Business Case Studies,Marketing Strategies Case Study, Reliance JIO: Leadership Strategy in the Indian Telecom Sector

Code : MM0075

Year :2019

Industry :Technology & Communications

Region : Asia

Teaching Note:Available

Structured Assignment :Not Available

Abstract: The case is about Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio), one of the leading telecom networks in India. By 2019, Jio was next only to Vodafone in marketshare. Jio adopted a predatory pricing strategy to enter the Indian telecom market and initially offered free voice, data, and message services. Jio’s move disrupted the competition and major competitors like Airtel, Idea, and Vodafone were forced to frame defense strategies to sustain their market share. They had no choice but to lower their tariffs to retain customers. Jio initially faced certain challenges like sharing of telecom spectrum, problems with other players related to Points of Interconnection, declining internet speed, number portability, etc. However, it moved ahead with its plans to start its commercial operations on April 1, 2017. By 2019, Jio’s subscriber base was 340 million and it was rapidly adding more subscribers at the cost of its competitors. It remained to be seen whether Jio would be able to sustain its leadership position and how soon it would emerge as the biggest player in the Indian telecom market in terms of subscribers.