10 years ago, this telco changed how India uses mobile phones
The mobile telecom industry wasn’t the same a decade ago as it is today. Voice calls were central, SMSes came with an additional charge, and mobile data was scarce and expensive. There were also no additional benefits such as OTT subscriptions, cloud storage and other services. Late 2016 marked a revolution for the segment, changing the way Indians used their smartphones. Here’s a quick look at what has unfolded over the past decade, how it changed the telecom industry and what could be expected next.
Table of Contents
India’s telecom industry before 2016
Those who experienced India’s telecom industry before 2016 would remember a market that was largely voice-driven, with users relying more on voice calls than mobile data. Data, SMS, roaming and other services were often available through separate recharges or add-on packs, forcing users to use each benefit judiciously.
Expensive mobile data also limited how freely people could use the internet on their smartphones. To put things into perspective, 1GB of mobile data cost around Rs 228 at the time. This was often an additional expense on top of voice, SMS and other recharges. Unlike today, recurring all-in-one tariffs were not the norm, with users often having to recharge separately depending on their requirements.
Mobile internet was also significantly slower than it is today, with 3G still more prevalent while 4G was only beginning to gain ground. Average mobile data speeds were around 2.5Mbps. With these connectivity and affordability constraints, smartphones could not be used as extensively for data-heavy activities as they are today. Mobile gaming, video streaming, browsing, social media and navigation existed, but the cost and speed of mobile internet limited their wider use.
What changed
The commercial launch of Jio on September 5th, 2016, revolutionised the telecom industry and, in turn, changed how Indians used smartphones. It put mobile data at the centre of the proposition and introduced VoLTE (Voice over Long-Term Evolution), allowing voice calls to be carried over its high-speed 4G network rather than relying on 2G and 3G. All-in-one recharge packs also became a theme, combining unlimited voice calls with a gigabyte or more of mobile data and SMS benefits.
The telco also offered plans that worked across circles and regions, doing away with separate roaming charges when travelling from one state to another. Although these plans came with a fixed validity, they were significantly more affordable than what users were accustomed to paying for mobile data. The effective cost of 1GB of data fell to around Rs 7.9, a roughly 97 percent drop from the Rs 228 per GB users paid earlier.
This made mobile internet far more accessible and accelerated data consumption across India, thereby increasing the use of smartphones. It increased video streaming, browsing, social media, gaming, and more importantly, digital payments on smartphones. The change also created the conditions for India’s creator economy to grow, as cheaper and faster mobile internet made it easier to create, consume and distribute content.
Airtel, Vi prevented monopoly
Airtel, Vodafone and Idea were quick to adapt to the disruption caused by Jio, helping ensure that the market did not become a one-player game. All three telcos had a significant presence in India before 2016, when 2G and 3G networks and separate tariff models were still common. But Jio’s success forced them to rethink both their networks and their plans.
Airtel began rolling out VoLTE in 2017, while Vodafone and Idea followed with their own VoLTE services in 2018. At the same time, the operators introduced more competitive plans that bundled voice, data and SMS, with free roaming increasingly becoming part of the proposition.
The competitive pressure also triggered consolidation across the industry. Vodafone India and Idea Cellular completed their merger in 2018 to form Vodafone Idea, now known as Vi. The merger created India’s largest telecom operator at the time, with nearly 408 million customers.
Telcos benefited too
The data-driven, all-in-one recharge plans not only benefited consumers but telcos as well. Before 2016, prepaid users could often go for months without recharging if they had sufficient balance and did not need additional services. The all-in-one packs, however, came with a fixed validity, requiring users to recharge once the pack expired to continue using their numbers. This made regular recharges a much more important part of the mobile experience and gave telcos a more predictable source of recurring revenue.
Current situation
In the current scenario, Jio leads with the highest subscriber count of roughly 482.5 million, followed by Airtel with around 410 million users. Vi ranks third with approximately 198 million subscribers. BSNL also remains a significant player in the Indian telecom market, although its subscriber base is considerably smaller than that of the three leading private operators.
All three telcos have also adopted 5G, offering significantly faster speeds than 4G. Moreover, what started with all-in-one recharge packs has evolved into a wider range of value-added services. Telcos are increasingly adding benefits to their plans to make them more attractive to consumers and differentiate their offerings. These include subscriptions to OTT platforms, cloud storage, AI services and more.
In other words, a telecom plan today is no longer just about calls and data. It increasingly acts as a gateway to a broader ecosystem of digital services. At the same time, the era of ever-cheaper data appears to be changing, with reports suggesting that Airtel, Jio and Vi are preparing to hike their tariffs. This comes two years after the last major tariff revision, when plans became roughly 10 percent to 27 percent more expensive.
Next evolution
While the roadmap remains unclear, voice, data and SMS will likely remain at the centre of telecom services. Furthermore, AI will play a larger role in defining the future of telecom, making networks smarter by predicting congestion, identifying faults and optimising network resources. It could also enhance customer service, personalise plans, and help prevent fraud and spam.
The next major network transition could come with 6G. While the technology is still in the standardisation and development phase, it is expected to go beyond simply offering faster speeds, with greater focus on ultra-low latency, intelligent networks and connecting a much larger number of devices. AI is also expected to be deeply integrated into 6G networks, potentially making them more autonomous and responsive.
Moreover, services will play a key role in defining the sector. Now that data, voice calls, and other benefits have become accessible to a much larger population, the focus will increasingly shift towards ensuring that these services remain accessible not just in cities and open areas, but also in the remotest parts of the country and in congested areas.
