Journey of Reliance Jio: From disrupting telecom to becoming the king

The youngest operator took 3 years to claim the top spot, changing the industry in the process

When Reliance Jio launched its services commercially in September 2016, it was a disruptor with a cheap tariff plan. Nearly three years later, it is the king.

Vodafone Idea, which became the country’s largest telecom operator by subscribers after their merger last year, relinquished the crown to Jio Infocomm, the youngest operator in the domestic telecom scene, based on June quarter figures released by both telecom operators. Jio had pipped Bharti Airtel to take the second spot earlier this month. It took Jio three years to claim the top spot in terms of subscribers.

More importantly, Jio has changed the Indian telecom