New Delhi: Seven years ago, when Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani announced the launch of Jio, no one thought that one day Reliance Jio would become the backbone of the country’s digital infrastructure. Jio has changed a lot in the country in the last 7 years. This has had a direct impact on the life of the common man.
7 major impacts of Jio
Free Outgoing Calls – On the very first day of its launch on 5th September 2016, Reliance Jio ended the era of expensive outgoing calling in the country. Reliance Jio became the first company in India to make outgoing calls free, which continues till today.
Reduced data and mobile bill– Another major impact was on the cost of mobile data. Before Jio, the cost of per GB data was Rs.255. Jio aggressively reduced the data cost and now it is available for less than Rs 10 per GB. Due to free calling and reduced data cost, the mobile bill has come down significantly.
The country outdid in data consumption– The reduction in the data cost had a direct impact on data consumption. Before the arrival of Jio, India was at number 155 in the world in terms of data consumption. And today, India is among the first two. Jio’s network now consumes 1,100 crore GB of data per month. Jio customer uses an average of 25 GB data per month, which is the highest in the industry.
The whole shop in the small screen of the mobile – Now everything is available on mobile phone , after the data became economical because of Jio. There is no need to take out time for entertainment any more. Entertainment is available anytime, anywhere, with just a click. Be it rail, plane or cinema, all tickets are being booked online. Hotel booking and food sites, apps and tourism started witnessing a boom. E-commerce companies have integrated the entire shop into mobile.
Online Classes and Office– Everyone will remember that bad phase of Covid. Education and office started running from home. Internet was used for hours. The only factor that made it possible was the availability of data at affordable cost. Imagine if the data rates were the same as before Jio launch i.e. Rs 255 per GB then what would have happened.
Digital Payment– End of hassles over keeping change – The UPI Open Digital Payment System of the Government of India changed everything. Financial giants including big and small banks, wallet companies like Paytm and PhonePe joined the initiative. The aim was to transact money through the payment system in every mobile. Today it is being used by everyone from street vendors to 5-star hotels. The digital infrastructure of all telecom companies including Jio was very useful in this achievement. But the credit for the success of UPI, to a large extent, goes to the low cost of data, which encouraged the common Indian to use the digital payment system. With the launch of Jio, data cost was reduced by 25 times.
From 2G to 4G – In the very next year of its launch i.e. in 2017, the company launched JioPhone in the market. The objective was to shift 2G customers to 4G, so that they can also become a part of the digital economy. More than 13 crore JioPhone mobiles were sold. It was the highest selling mobile phone of any single model in any country. In its sequel, the company has launched JioBharat platform to drive 2G customers to 4G. Along with Jio, a company named Carbon is making a 4G feature phones called ‘Bharat’. Some more companies are also expected to join this platform and campaign soon.
Reduced Digital Divide – Earlier only the rich could use data, and the reason was its high cost. Jio bridged this gap between the rich and poor. Now everyone can use data easily. 4G reached the villages beyond the cities. Now the villagers also have access to every digital facility like the urban people. Be it operating Jan-Dhan accounts, registering in government schemes or shopping on e-commerce websites, now every kind of digital work can be done easily even sitting in the village.
Flood of unicorns – Startups with a valuation of more than $1 billion are called unicorns. Before the arrival of Jio, there were only 4-5 unicorns in the country,the number has now increased to 108 unicorns. Most of these are part of the digital economy, the backbone of which is Reliance Jio. Today the total valuation of Indian unicorns is more than Rs 28 lakh crore. Be it Zomato’s founder, Deepinder Goyal or Netflix’s CEO, Reed Hastings, all openly praise Jio’s contribution to their growth in India. Indian economists are expecting that the Indian digital economy will soon touch the $1 trillion mark.
Future Roadmap i.e. Artificial Intelligence – Recently, RIL Chairman Mukesh D. Ambani has promised to make Artificial Intelligence available to all Indians soon. Ambani believes that like data, every Indian has a right on artificial intelligence. This technology has also started showing a glimpse of its importance. It is expected that Artificial Intelligence riding on the speed of 5G will play an important role in shaping the future of the common Indian.
