Wire To Cut All Wires

The approaching footsteps of JioFiber broadband throws others into panicked activity

- Arindam Mukherjee

“Jio Giga Fiber beats the rest because of its ultra fast upload and download speeds & effective functioning in merely ‘milli seconds’. Now, imagine a high speed private internet highway right inside your home.”

THUS goes the proud, and loud, declaration on Jio’s website. Even before the service has been launched, and the first subscri­ber enrolled, Reliance Jio is clear about its intention regarding its high­speed broadband service JioFi­ber—it wants it to be the market leader.

Though the services are scheduled to be launched only on August 15, it is already the Next Big Thing in the Indian telecom and broadband market. No one is taking it lightly.

Soon after the announcement of Jio Fi­ber earlier this month, shares of inc um b­ ent broadband service providers, like Den Networks and Siti Cable, tanked signifi­cantly, some by as much as 18­20 percent.

Naturally, all players are wary of Jio­ Fiber’s possible impact on the market. Obviously, this is because of what Jio Telecom’s effect on the voice and tele­ com market. Soon after its launch in September 2016, Reliance Jio Telecom disrupted the entire telecom and voice market in India by giving lifetime free voice services, coupled with dirt­cheap high speed 4G data. Jio’s has been one of the fastest growth stories across the world. In just 22 months, the company has amassed 215 million subscribers— roughly 20 percent of the voice market. And it is growing at a significant pace.

Incumbent players and analysts alike expect JioFiber to be as big a game changer as was its telecom sibling. Beyond being wary, some firms are forced into aggression and are either preparing their war chest to fight the onslaught or have started coming up with sugar­ coated offers to retain or acquire customers.