Dont under-estimate the hinterland

Operators are neck and neck in rural India as users lap up 4G

An analXsis carrieT out bX CMR reveals tUat bX Mecember 2017H InTia UaT 83 million of tUe 238 million 4G subscribers coming from rural areas. TUis was 35% of tUe total subscribers meaning 1 out of 3 4G subscribers in tUe countrX is from rural territorX.

JioH altUougU creTiteT witU bringing 4G in to InTiaH Uas also maTe tUe incumbents like AirtelH VoTafone anT ITea to ramp up tUeir tecUnologX resulting in tUeX also investing in 4G networks. As a consequenceH wUile Jio being tUe 4G leaTer operator witU 160 million subscribers at tUe enT of Mecember 2017H Uas onlX manageT to increase 122% (88 million) subscribers in tUe Xear 2017H as against 457% (64 million) bX tUe incumbent mobile operators.

“TUougU laggarTsH incumbents Uave manageT to increase tUeir 4G subscriber base 3.8 times more tUan tUe Tisruptor operator Jio Turing 2017. TUis coulT be attributeT to incumbents aligning tUeir 4G offering to tUat of Jio in terms of price as well as contentH” saiT Faisal OawoosaH HeaT – New InitiativesH CMR.

At tUe same time incumbent operators Uave focuseT on rural markets wUicU contributeT to tUeir growtU in 4G. “TUe earlX aTaptors were leverageT bX Jio primarilX in tUe urban space anT as incumbent operators got reaTX witU tUeir 4G in full scaleH tUeX focuseT on rural markets to look for growtUH” aTTeT Faisal.

TUe analXsis furtUer pointeT tUat as against 26% rural subscribers using Jio