Reliance Jio claims world record with 16mn users enrolled in September

Given the huge response and the long queues for a Jio sim, this was very much expected. Reliance Jio has claimed to have created "a world record" by crossing the 16 million subscriber mark in its first month of operations - September.

Apparently, Jio’s growth is faster than any other telecom operator or start-up in the world, including the likes of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Skype, Reliance Jio Infocomm said in a release.

"We are delighted and humbled by the overwhelming response across India to the Jio Welcome Offer. Jio is built to empower every Indian with the power of data," said Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).

Reliance Jio that was officially launched on September 5 has been widely popular among masses with its free calling and cheap 4G services.

Jio has introduced Aadhaar-based paperless Jio SIM activation across 3,100 cities and towns. This enables the customer to complete the SIM activation process in a matter of minutes, with only his/her Aadhaar number.

"This process will be extended across the country and fully stabilised for satisfactory onboarding experience in the next few weeks," the release said.

Mukesh Ambani’s enterprise has unleashed a kind of data wars among major telcos that has resulted in tariffs going down across all networks.

Jio is offering data services free for four months from September 5, after which it will offer 10 tariff plans starting at Rs. 19 a day for occasional data users, Rs. 149 a month for low data users and Rs.4,999 a month for heavy data subscribers.

Bharti Airtel, the largest mobile operator in India, has a subscriber base of 257.5 million, as of August. According to data from industry body COAI, Airtel's subscriber addition in August stood at 0.70 million. It had added 1.07 million net new subscribers in July.

"We congratulate them (Jio) on the great performance. From a national perspective, we have to get 1 billion people connected. So, the sooner that happens, the better it is," Rajan S Mathews, director-general of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), told PTI.

Industry body COAI's subscriber data for September (which includes the latest customer addition by various operators) are expected to come out in mid-October, he added.