crm case study on airtel

• Corpus ID: 166846052

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - A Case Study of Airtel

• Published 2013
• Journal of Contemporary Research in Management

One Citation

Attitude towards crm system: a study on surgical companies in india and bangladesh, 3 references, changes in the theory of interorganizational relations in marketing: toward a network paradigm, at the speed of light, relationship marketing: paradigm shift or shaft, related papers.

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The Success Story Of Bharti Airtel: A Case Study

PV Vyshnavi , Anik Banerjee

Bharti Airtel is a public limited company commonly known as Airtel. It is an Indian telecom company, which is currently operating its business across South Asia, Africa, and the Channel Islands. It provides GSM in all the countries including 2G and 3G services . Due to its operations in more than 18 countries, Airtel is currently known as the 3rd largest mobile network operator across the globe with over a billion users and the 2nd largest mobile network operator in India.  

Bharti Airtel's Indian Customer Base, as of March 31, 2020, looked like this -

• 283.7 million Mobile Services
• 2.4 million homes
• 16.6 million Digital TV Services

Along with being one of India’s largest integrated telecom providers in India, Airtel is also famously ranked by Millward Brown and WPP plc in the first-ever Brandz ranking as the most valuable brand . At the end of September 2020, Airtel had around 440 Mn customers across its operations. It was known as the 3rd largest cellular service provider in India after beating China Unicom with 303 million subscribers, when reported back in August 2015.

Along with the telephony network that Airtel provides, where the company offers prepaid and postpaid networks, it also offers broadband and DTH services for its customers. It also acts as a carrier for national and international long distances communication services. The company has a submarine cable landing station in Chennai which connects the submarine cable between Chennai and Singapore. One of the other services provided by Airtel is the Airtel Money (commerce platform in collaboration with Infosys ).

Airtel is also hailed as the first Telco to launch Multiplex in Metaverse , a milestone it achieved when it unveiled Metaverse multiplex on the PartyNite Metaverse platform , which is the first Metaverse multiplex in India .

On this note, let's look at this StartupTalky Bharti Airtel company profile, which brings the Airtel case study, competitions, Bharti Airtel subsidiaries, products, Airtel employees, Airtel telecom founded in, Airtel net worth, hiring culture, policies, Airtel's history, Airtel's customer base, achievements, and more.

Bharti Airtel - Company Highlights

About Bharti Airtel A Brief History of Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel - Name, Tagline and Logo Bharti Airtel - Mission and Vision Bharti Airtel as The Market Champion Bharti Airtel - HR Strategies Bharti Airtel - Service Rule and Regulation of Employees Bharti Airtel - Promotion Policy and Wage Structure Bharti Airtel - Training and Development of Employees Bharti Airtel - Hiring Process Bharti Airtel - Incentives and Benefits Bharti Airtel - Partnerships Bharti Airtel - Awards and Recognition Bharti Airtel - Future Plans Recommendations

About Bharti Airtel

The name "Airtel" is something that is not only popular in India but has been a buzzword since the company was founded back in 1995. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, Bharti Airtel is a multinational telecommunication company with roots in the Indian subcontinent, which currently serves users of over 18 countries. The telecom giant has provided 2G, 3G, 4G+ and 4G LTE networks, fixed-line broadband connections, and voice services, which are based on the country of operation. Besides, it has also launched the Volte service.

The Bharti Airtel company outsources all of its business operations except marketing, sales, and finance and is often credited with being the pioneer of such a business model. Besides, many of today's telecom service providers also look up to Airtel for the same, which are now working on similar business models. Besides, Airtel is also hailed as the pioneer of the minutes' factory model of low-cost and high volumes. The equipment that Airtel uses are provided for and maintained by companies like Ericsson , Huawei , and Nokia Networks . On the other hand, its IT support is provided by Amdocs.

A Brief History of Bharti Airtel

The Airtel founder, Sunil Mittal had primarily set up his business Bharti Overseas Trading Company in 1980, which was an import enterprise where he dealt with generators and more. Then he saw a push-button phone in Taiwan in 1984, seeing that he eventually started to assemble similar phones. Focusing on the same, he founded Bharti Telecom Limited in the early 1990s. Though he started with manufacturing fax machines, cordless phones, and other telecom gear, he soon discovered that the Indian government was inviting bids for mobile telephony in 1992, and Sunil was successful in bidding for one of the four mobile phone network licensed auctioned.

He later went for collaborating with the French telecom group Vivendi, which eventually agreed to do business with him in spite of Mr Mittal being a small timer at that time. This led him to launch his cellular services in Delhi in 1995. Thus, Bharti Cellular Limited was formed to offer cellular services under the brand name AirTel. In 1996, cellular service extended to Himachal Pradesh. In 1999, the Bharti Enterprise went on to acquire control of JT holdings and extended cellular operations to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Then, in 2000, Bharti acquired control over Skycell communications in Chennai.

In 2001, the company acquired control of the Spice cell in Kolkata. Next, the company got listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange. In 2003, all the cellular phone operations of the company were summed up under the single brand of Airtel. Airtel then acquired control over Hexcom and entered Rajasthan in 2005. It then extended its network all across India in 2005 and launched its first international mobile network in Sri Lanka.

It was under the direction of the company's Founder, Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal that the company became very successful and within a few years, AirTel turned into the first telecom company to cross the 2-million mobile subscriber mark.

On 13 th February 2008, Bharti Airtel Limited, the leading telecommunication company in India, crossed the 60 million customer mark. The wireless segment constituted 96% of BAL total customer base. The valuation of BAL then stood at $40 billion in 2008. BA was the fastest in the world and added 8 million customers in 2008. This puts Bharti Airtel among the top telecom companies in the world. Its next target was to reach 100 million mark by 2010. This was also crossed by the company. Airtel is currently standing with a subscriber base of around 354.40 million subscribers in 2021.

Bharti Airtel - Name, Tagline and Logo

Airtel's actual name was Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL), the company which later began to offer cellular services under the brand name AirTel.

"AISI AZADI AUR KAHAN ” is one of the prominent taglines adopted by Airtel.

Bharti Airtel - Mission and Vision

"Hunger to win customers for life" is the mission of Airtel.

" Our vision is to enrich the lives of our customers. Our obsession is to win customers for life through an exceptional experience ." - says the Vision statement of the brand.

Bharti Airtel as The Market Champion

Airtel strives to align its HR strategies with its corporate strategy. The HR team makes sure to see if the organization teams have the same attitude that would help employees realize the vision of the company. The company emphasizes recruiting young people with an average age of 26 years. This is done because the company wants to bring in young entrants and would them as per the business organization and at the same time, enhance their interaction and creativity.

Senior management was advised by the HR management as they are encouraged to put forward their views openly in order, to play a more proactive role in team-building efforts. This was further augmented by a reward and recognition system along with a strong training program. As a part of the planning process, the entire organization is measured on five performance parameters, which includes its financial performance, profitability, market share, customer satisfaction , and employee satisfaction .

Bharti Airtel - Growth

Bharti Airtel has grown hugely throughout the years in the telecommunication sector. The company is currently spread across 18+ different countries including those in South Asia, Africa, and the Channel Islands. Building a big name for itself, Airtel is currently known as the second-largest mobile network in India along with being the second-largest mobile network in the world.

Along with offering an efficient mobile network, Airtel also brings a wide array of products and services to its customers:

• Digital television
• Android-based tablet

Airtel unveiled on June 14, 2022, it's first, which is, in fact, India's first Metaverse platform on the PartyNite Metaverse platform. Xstream multiplex, which Airtel launched, is designed as a 20-screen platform and will be an extension of Airtel’s Xstream Premium offering. Such a platform will leverage the content library of Airtel and will offer many more layers of engagement, thereby allowing the users to interact on the PartyNite Metaverse. This new Airtel multiplex will offer a sampling of the original shows and movies in many other languages along with those in English and Hindi.

Airtel and Jio, it seems, are quite locked together to gain market share in India. According to the TRAI data for April 2022, Jio held a 35.5% market share in the wireless telecom market of the country whereas Airtel was positioned at the second spot with a market share that equalled 31.61%.  

Google has picked up a minor and non-controlling 1.28% stake in Airtel for $700 mn , as per the reports dated July 1, 2022 . The deal comes after around 5 months since it was proposed. This deal is part of the larger Google For India Digitisation Fund, which the CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, announced in July 2020 . The tech behemoth also said then that it would keep an additional $300 mn worth of funds for potential multi-year commercial agreements with Airtel. This investment in Bharti Airtel marks the second Google investment in India. The first was when Google invested $4.5 bn in Jio in 2020, picking up a 7.73% stake in the company. This investment from Google will help both Airtel and Google to ramp up the telco’s enterprise cloud solutions, which are being operated currently with Amazon. The deal would also help both parties to work unitedly to create an array of affordable Android devices in partnership with the device manufacturers. Moreover, the deal would also help them develop 5G use cases specific to India and create multiple network solutions. The shares of Airtel were allocated on July 14, 2022, when Bharti Airtel approved the allotment of more than 71.17 crore shares to Google at an issue price of Rs 734, which includes a premium of Rs 729 per equity share. In the conclusion of this, Google's stakes in Airtel stand at 1.20% of the total post-equity shares or 1.17% of the telecom company on a fully-diluted basis.

Airtel Financials and Revenues

The average revenue per user of Airtel rose to Rs 178 crore in the January-March quarter of 2022. This rise was mainly due to the strong user additions, higher tariffs, and one-time gains. The consolidated net profits of Airtel increased by 164% to become Rs 2008 crore in FY22.

Bharti Airtel- Service Rule and Regulation of Employees

In Airtel, you are an at-will employee, this means you are working at your own will without any force or pressure before you join the company. You must sign terms and condition agreement that will state the corporate governance of the company which is:

• Employees must report to their superiors and maintain disciplinary work.
• All employees will be paid monthly by cheque procedure.
• In case of leave, employees must draft a detailed application mentioning the reason for leave.
• A lunch break of 1 Hour will be provided.

Bharti Airtel- Promotion Policy and Wage Structure

AirTel engages a policy under which an employee gets his/her due promotion in the organization, which is a reward for an excellent performance. Under the rules that govern the promotion, AirTel states that the employee must have successfully completed 6 months to be eligible for promotion in Airtel. The internal application process is carried out and all the previous records are checked and the performance is analyzed.

The internal relationship between different jobs and wages helps the firm to decide its wage structure. 60% of its employees have a variable pay structure where they get paid according to the work done. The company considers factors such as performance and maintains internal equity to ensure people at the same level are paid for the same amount of work.

Bharti Airtel - Training and Development of Employees

Airtel has a vast pool of human resources that are upgraded from time to time in terms of leadership and technical skills through various outsourced and in-house training and development activities such as process and project management skills and technical skills. By providing world-class resources and combined efforts by Airtel many employees are being trained to become future leaders. The company's HR is continuously working on launching various initiatives like on-job training, programmed learning, simulated development, and computed-based training.

The on-job training is where a person learns a job actually doing it. Every employee from the mailroom, from a clerk to the CEO, gets job training when they join the company. Informal learning is used as 80% of the employees learn on the job they learn not through informal training, including performing their jobs on a daily basis in collaboration with their colleagues.

The company provides a job instruction training program that takes place every month in Airtel in which a logical sequence of steps is taught step by step. On a quarterly basis programmed learning is followed by Airtel in which self-learning methods consist of Presenting questions, facts, or problems to the learner and allowing the person to respond.

Bharti Airtel - Hiring Process

• Application – In Airtel existing openings are monitored and accordingly position procedures are being carried out matching candidates' profiles and areas of interest.
• Screening – Matching of the profile is done by the company with respect to its requirements and needs.
• Assessment – An aptitude test is required for the job of the front line sales. For considering the middle and senior-level job occupational personality questionnaire was done.
• Interview – Airtel takes 1 to 3 rounds for the interview process. Then the final appointment letter is being offered with the company’s terms & conditions memo, which every employee must sign.

Bharti Airtel - Incentives and Benefits

Airtel has an incentive pay scheme managers often use two terms synonymously incentive plan for the employees that are applicable to sales over the target achieved. Merit pay as incentives is generally done by the company for excellent performance by the employee in the last term of his/her employment. The other non-monetary incentives include Employee recognition, Gifts , Special events, merchandise incentives , and free training programs.

When it comes to the benefits, they are indirect financial and non-financial payments employees receive for continuing their employment. They include things like health and life insurance pensions, time off with pay, and child care assistance.  The company also provides Life and Health insurance for families and dependents. Different types of leaves like study leave, extraordinary leave, petrol allowance, and family holidays.

Along with helping the employees on many different fronts, Airtel also cares for others as well, especially the startups of today.

Airtel Launches Startup Accelerator Program to Support Startups

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s largest integrated telecommunications company, announced the launch of its Startup Accelerator Program on October 25, 2019, to support the growth of early-stage Indian tech startups. With the advent of its Start-up Accelerator Program, Airtel aims to support the creation of a vibrant startup ecosystem that contributes to “Digital India”.

Through Airtel’s Startup Accelerator, early startups get access to Airtel’s online and offline distribution network, deep market understanding, and ecosystem of global strategic partners. In addition, Airtel has also developed strong in-house capabilities around machine learning and artificial intelligence, which could be leveraged to aid the growth of startups. Furthermore, startups also get access to advisory services from Airtel’s executive team.

Vahan was the first to join Airtel Startup Accelerator. Airtel announced the induction of Bengaluru-based tech startup Vahan into its Startup Accelerator Program. Airtel will acquire a stake in Vahan and partner with them in building a significant scale to achieve their vision of enabling jobs for the next billion internet users. Founded in 2016 and backed by Y Combinator and Khosla Ventures, Vahan leverages advanced Artificial Intelligence to match job seekers with employers inside messaging apps such as Whatsapp. It is focused on finding blue collar jobs for millions of young Indians in Delivery, Driving, Retail, BFSI, BPO and Hospitality sectors with companies such as Zomato , Swiggy and Dunzo as clients.

Adarsh Nair, Chief Product Officer, Bharti Airtel said:

Today, early stage startups in India have some very exciting ideas but face multiple challenges in scaling up. With Airtel’s scale and digital capabilities around distribution and payments, we have the potential to drive accelerated growth of emerging startups that are solving hard problems. The team at Vahan is doing some incredible work to bring jobs to millions of people through AI based technology. We are excited to partner with them on this vision.

Madhav Krishna, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Vahan, said: “

Airtel will be a key partner for us as we look to solve a hard problem for Bharat. Most blue-collar job seekers are unaware of the opportunities that exist in the market, especially new-age on-demand jobs. Airtel’s distribution channels will help us reach the very depths of the country and in turn, help millions of Indians take control of their economic destiny. We are incredibly excited about this partnership.

Bharti Airtel - Partnerships

Bharti Airtel has seen a considerable number of partnerships and collaborations to date. Some of them are mentioned below:

• Bharti Airtel partnered with Apollo Hospitals and Cisco on April 28, 2022, in order to help in the development of state-of-the-art ambulances that will be equipped with Airtel 5G.
• The company partnered with Mavenir for open radio access network-based 5G field trials. The first Open RAN-based 5G NSA validation was done on April 5, 2022.
• Airtel and Tech Mahindra partnered together to "build and market innovative solutions for India’s digital economy by bringing together their core strengths", said an Airtel PR dated March 31, 2022.
• A PR rolled out by Airtel on December 14, 2021, stated that the company partnered with Capgemini to announce 5G-based enterprise-grade solutions to the Indian market.
• Bharti Airtel and TCS collaborated to build a 5G-based remote working technology using robotics on December 2, 2021.
• BlueJeans - Bharti partnered with Verizon to launch BlueJeans, a video conferencing platform like JioMeet. The platform can accommodate 50,000 attendees and is simple and intuitive to use. With the launch of BlueJeans, Airtel and Verizon tend to provide a safer video conferencing experience to the customers. Hans Vestberg, Chief Executive Officer of Verizon, said during a virtual press conference that the data of all the customers will be hosted in India and stored within the data centres all over India. The per-call costs have also been dropped to INR 0.50. It is also having the Airtel Auto Bridge feature, which allows users to benefit from an unlimited calling feature within the National/International range. This new feature also consists of HD video calling with Dolby voice support. It also allows users to schedule, join or host the meets with the one-click feature. With the involvement of ‘Smart Meetings’ feature in BlueJeans it will allow the user to get hold of the important points and assign certain actions to the people. They are also trying to add certain packages for the enterprises in the upcoming days. Vittal said in a statement, “We will have three kinds of packages for our consumers one for large enterprise, the second one for medium, and the third for tiny or small business. We will reveal packages for BlueJeans over the next few days.” The company is also sure that the prices will be competitive. Airtel has been a new entry in the video conferencing sector shortly after the launch of JioMeet by Reliance Jio. Players from the telecom Industry entering the video conferencing sector will be interesting. It is making a great competitive market in this industry. BlueJeans was founded by Krish Ramakrishnan and Alagu Periyannan, in India only. The first prototype was tested back in 2009 and 2012 in Pune at the company's research and department centre. However, Verizon, in May 2020, tried to acquire it and give it a boost. It will be interesting to see how things go in the upcoming days and brings us interesting content.

Bharti Airtel - Awards and Recognition

Some of the major achievements and milestones earned by Bharti Airtel are listed below -

• AirtelThanks App was recognized as one of the most innovative mobile application in the prestigious ET Telecom Awards 2020.
• Airtel won four awards in each category of Video Experience, Games Experience, Voice App Experience and Download Speed Experience in the Open Signal Report in September 2020, for the second time in a row.
• Airtel Xstream Fiber won the Best Broadband Service Provider in ET Telecom Awards 2020.
• Airtel ranked 4th in the category of “ The top 10 most valuable Indian brands 2019 ” as per WPP Kantar Survey.
• Airtel Business won the “ Best Partnership ” award at Telecoms World Middle East Awards 2019 for partnering with Telecom Egypt.
• Airtel Business won 3 prestigious awards at Global Carrier Awards 2019, namely, Best Global Wholesale Carrier – Voice, Best Voice Service Innovation – Emerging Markets and Best Security Solution.
• Airtel Finance shared services team has bagged the coveted Digital Initiative Award by HDFC bank in the Large Customer Category.
• Airtel Business has been awarded as the “Enterprise Data Service Provider of the Year” and the “Enterprise Telecom Service Provider of the Year” in the large enterprise segment at the Frost and Sullivan ICT Awards
• App Annie ranked Wynk Music as India’s #1 music streaming app in terms of Daily Active Users in October 2019.

And the list goes on & on...

Bharti Airtel - Future Plans

Bharti Airtel is currently planning to launch its 5G services in the country. The Union Cabinet earlier gave its nod for the auction of 72 GHz of 5G spectrum, which is planned to be conducted in July 2022.

Recommendations

Bharti Airtel is currently doing incredibly well in recent times it is expected with same quality services and has the prospective to overtake China’s Unicom in a few years making Airtel one of the world leaders when it comes to being a world leader in telecommunication. This is possible because of the company’s expansion in African and Asian countries making it a global company.  Airtel also has good relations with its business partners like Ericsson , Siemens , and IBM .

The company has strong HR policies that help in maintaining its corporate governance structure. The profit and assets are also increasing at a considerably good rate, making its turnover cross $643.25 bn. Good customer schemes and support services make Airtel capture a major chunk of the competitive market.

What is the difference between Airtel and Bharti Airtel?

Bharti Airtel and Airtel are the same company, a subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises.

Is Bharti Airtel an Indian company?

Bharti Airtel Limited is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company .

How many employees are there in Airtel?

There were over 17K employees in Airtel in 2021.

When was Airtel founded?

Airtel was founded on July 7, 1995.

Who is the founder of Airtel?

Airtel was founded by Sunil Bharti Mittal.

What is the Airtel company owner's name?

Bharti Airtel is a subsidiary owned by Bharti Enterprises.

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Airtel VS Jio Complete case study: Detailed Analysis & Review

• Post author: StockPe
• Post published: April 17, 2023
• Post category: Uncategorized
• Post comments: 0 Comments

Jio and Airtel have engaged in strong competition for a higher market share in the Indian telecom sector. This case study examines the competition between Jio and Airtel in detail, examining their market strategies, product offerings, pricing structures, customer retention rates, and market shares.

One of India’s leading telecommunications providers, Airtel, has been in the business for more than 20 years and has built a solid reputation. On the other side, Jio, a relatively new competitor in the market, has revolutionised the sector with its inexpensive data plans and cutting-edge products. In order to gain insight into how their competitors are promoting industry growth, the study will examine the various facets of their competition, including their strengths and shortcomings.

Airtel Case Study:

 Sunil Bharti Mittal started Airtel, formally known as Bharti Airtel Limited, an international telecommunications business in India, in 1995. Over 418 million people receive voice and data services from Airtel, which operates in 18 nations throughout Asia and Africa. With a market share of about 29.39% in India, Airtel is the second-largest telecom provider.

Strengths and Advantages:

• Broad Network Coverage: Airtel offers 4G and 5G services and has a large network coverage throughout India.
• Customer-centric Approach: Airtel has a strong focus on serving its customers and provides a range of services that are esigned with their needs in mind.
• Diversified Business: Broadband, DTH, and enterprise services are now part of Airtel’s business portfolio.
• Strong Brand Equity: In the Indian telecom sector, Airtel is a well-known and dependable brand.

Weakness and Disadvantages:

• Debt Burden: Airtel’s heavy debt load restricts its ability to invest in infrastructure and technologies.
• Limited Spectrum Availability: Airtel’s ability to extend network coverage and provide high-speed internet services is constrained by the limited spectrum that is available to it.
• High Level of Competition: Jio, which provides inexpensive data services, poses the greatest threat to Airtel.

Overall, with a varied business portfolio, extensive network coverage, and a high brand equity, Airtel is a significant player in the Indian telecom sector. However, it has difficulties like fierce rivalry, a lack of spectrum availability, and a heavy debt load. The measures adopted by Airtel to increase network coverage, diversify its line of business, save expenses, and interact with customers would aid the company in maintaining its position in the market and effectively competing with rivals. 

Jio Case Study:

Jio, also referred to as Reliance, In 2010, Mukesh Ambani, the head of Reliance Industries Limited, created the Indian telecom business Jio Infocomm Limited. In September 2016, Jio launched its commercial operations and started providing 4G LTE mobile, broadband, and digital services.

Here is a synopsis of Jio’s past:

• In 2010, Reliance Industries Limited bought a 95% share in Infotel Broadband Services Limited, which had won the government of India’s auction for a licence to use 4G spectrum across the country.
• With a focus on 4G services, Mukesh Ambani announced plans to invest INR 1.5 lakh crore (about $20 billion) in the telecom industry in 2013.
• Jio conducted a preliminary launch of its services in December 2015 for Reliance workers.
• Jio officially launched its services in September 2016 and offered six months of free voice and broadband services to attract subscribers.
• Jio stated in December 2016 that it had added 50 million users in just 83 days, breaking the previous record for the fastest subscriber ramp-up by a telecom company.
• Jio claimed in March 2017 that it had reached 100 million customers in just 170 days, breaking another another record.
• Jio released its 4G VoLTE feature phone, the JioPhone, in July 2017 with a focus on the low-income and rural markets.
• Jio’s revolutionary pricing model, which included initially providing free voice and data services and subsequently introducing affordable data plans, has allowed it to quickly build up a sizable subscriber base.
• large Network Coverage: Jio offers its consumers 4G and 5G services and has a large network footprint throughout India.
• High Investment in Technology and Infrastructure: Jio has made significant investments in technology and infrastructure, such as the construction of a pan-Indian fibre optic network, which have enabled it to provide high-speed data services and enhance the quality of its network.
• Jio introduced its broadband services, Jio Fibre, in September 2018, providing consumers with high-speed internet, telephony, and TV services.
• Dependence on Data Services: Due to Jio’s emphasis on data services, its reliance on data revenues may be negatively impacted by changes to regulations or competition from other businesses.
• Limited Diversification: Jio’s revenue is primarily derived from the telecom industry, making it less diversified than other market participants.
• Customer complaints about Jio’s network, call quality, and customer service have been received. These issues may have an impact on customer loyalty in the future.

Through a series of investments from businesses like Facebook, Google, and others in 2020, Jio raised INR 1.52 lakh crore (US$20 billion), which aided in debt reduction and strengthened its market position.

With a market share of 36.32% as of 2022 and more than 447 million members, Jio is India’s largest telecom provider.

With its innovative pricing policies, emphasis on digital services, and investments in infrastructure and technology, Jio has completely changed the Indian telecom sector and emerged as a force to be reckoned with.

With its innovative pricing model, robust network coverage, and emphasis on digital services, Jio is a formidable competitor in the Indian telecom sector. However, it has difficulties such reliance on data services, a lack of diversification, and client concerns about network quality and customer service. Jio will be able to sustain its position in the market and effectively compete with other competitors thanks to its strategy to increase network coverage, broaden its business portfolio, engage with customers, and invest in infrastructure and technology.

Airtel vs Jio:

Among the top telecom firms in India are Airtel and Jio. Both businesses are well-established in India and provide a variety of goods and services to their clients. We will thoroughly examine and analyse the two businesses in this case study.

• Background and History: Sunil Bharti Mittal started Airtel, also known as Bharti Airtel, in 1995. It is one of the biggest telecom businesses in the world and has its headquarters in New Delhi, India. Broadband, digital TV, mobile and fixed-line telephony are just a few of the goods and services that Airtel provides.

Jio: Mukesh Ambani founded Jio, also known as Reliance Jio, in 2016. It is a division of Reliance Industries with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. Jio is a supplier of 4G LTE networks and provides a variety of goods and services, including as broadband, digital TV, and mobile and fixed-line phone service.

• Network Coverage: Airtel Airtel provides 2G, 3G, and 4G services and has a significant network presence in India. In India, Airtel offers extensive network coverage that includes both urban and rural areas.

Jio: Jio is an Indian supplier of 4G LTE networks and 4G services. Jio has made significant investments in its network infrastructure, and the country’s coverage of its services is fast growing.

• Products and Services: Airtel: Airtel provides a variety of goods and services, such as Internet, digital TV, and mobile and fixed-line telephone. Additionally, Airtel has introduced Airtel Payments Bank, which enables users to register bank accounts and conduct transactions using mobile devices.

Jio: Jio provides a variety of goods and services, such as broadband, digital TV, and mobile and fixed-line phone service. Jio has also unveiled JioMoney, a mobile-based digital wallet that enables users to conduct transactions.

• Pricing: Airtel’s pricing is reasonable and fluctuates according to the goods and services provided. Customers of Airtel can choose from a variety of plans and packages.

Jio: Jio is renowned for its innovative and fiercely competitive pricing. To increase its market share, Jio has a history of providing services for nothing or at steep discounts.

• Advertising and marketing: Airtel: Airtel has a reputation for running original and imaginative marketing campaigns. In order to promote its brand, Airtel has also teamed up with a number of athletes and celebrities.

Jio: Jio has a reputation for aggressive marketing and publicity activities. Jio has also teamed up with a number of athletes and celebrities to promote its brand.

• Customer assistance is provided by Airtel through a variety of channels, including phone, email, and social media. Airtel has a strong customer care presence in India.

Jio: Jio has received criticism for at times being slow and unresponsive with its customer support.

• Financial Performance: Airtel: Over the years, Airtel has consistently recorded outstanding financial performance and revenue growth. The quarter ended June 30, 2021, had an Airtel net profit of Rs. 284.2 crore.

Jio: Since its launch, Jio has also revealed impressive financial results. Jio made a net profit of Rs. 3,651 crore for the quarter that ended on June 30, 2021.

• Market Share: Airtel: With a market share of over 28%, Airtel is one of the biggest telecom providers in India.

Jio:  With a 36.32% market share in the Indian telecom sector as of January 2022, Jio was the biggest telecom provider in the nation. Since its 2016 inception, Jio has been steadily expanding and upending the Indian telecom industry with its inexpensive internet services and novel products. It has a sizable customer base and is a leading participant in the Indian telecom sector thanks to its robust network coverage and fast 4G and 5G services.

Two significant telecom industry companies in India, Jio and Airtel, each have unique strengths and disadvantages. Airtel is a well-known company with a strong brand, numerous sources of income, and an emphasis on premium services. Jio, a relatively new competitor, has, on the other hand, upended the market with its inexpensive data plans, robust network, and emphasis on digital services.

Jio has eclipsed Airtel in terms of market share and is now India’s biggest telecom provider. With a sizable client base, a variety of revenue sources, and a strong focus on premium services, Airtel is still a formidable competitor.

Jio and Airtel both have distinctive business plans for competing in the market. While Jio is concentrated on growing its network coverage, diversifying its business portfolio, engaging with customers, and investing in technology and infrastructure to provide high-speed data services, Airtel is concentrated on providing premium services and investing in infrastructure and technology to improve customer experience.

In conclusion, Jio and Airtel are two significant participants in the Indian telecom market, each with a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. However, both companies have developed competitive strategies that allow them to thrive in the industry. Customers have benefited from the competition between Jio and Airtel since lower rates, better services, and more inventive items have resulted from it.

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Airtel: Case Study on its Business Model and Marketing Strategy

By Aditya Shastri

Bharti Airtel is one of the three telecom giants of India, known for its distinct and engaging digital marketing strategies and campaigns. With its promotional efforts directed towards all who can buy a SIM card, they are for their young and energetic brand image.

Yet with Airtel’s amazing efforts to market itself, competitors such as Reliance Jio have wreaked havoc on the industry with their cutthroat pricing and a stronger digital marketing plan. In this research case study, we will take a deep dive into Airtel and its competitors, target audience, digital marketing and advertising strategy and much more! All the information in the case study is up to date till the year 2023.

Let us begin this case study by learning more about the marketing strategy of Airtel.

About Airtel

Bharti Airtel, commonly known as Airtel, is a telecom giant and second-largest in India in terms of the number of subscribers. Founded on 7th July 1995 by Sunil Mittal, Airtel is the first Indian telecom provider to be honored with Gold Certification by Cisco. Today airtel is not only restricted to mobile services but also includes Airtel Payments Bank, Airtel Thanks App, Wynk Music, and a wide range of other services.

By being a successful company over the years in a sector that faces numerous challenges like limited spectrum availability, and tariff war the company has set a benchmark with marketing being one of the reasons for its growth. However, the rapid growth of Reliance Jio over the last 4 years is a growing concern for the company. Reliance Jio is giving a cut-throat competition while the race to roll out 5G in India gets intense between the telecom companies.

With “ Hunger to win customers for life” as its mission, airtel thrives to be on the top of the leadership board.

Current News about the brand  

• Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s leading telecommunications services provider, announced that its ultra-fast 5G service is currently available in 500 locations across the country on March 24, 2023.
• Airtel’s network was expanded to 235 places, making it one of the largest rollouts to date. As the company continues to develop its network, Airtel 5G Plus is now available in every major city, from the upper northern city of Kashmir to the southernmost point of Kanyakumari.
• Airtel 5G Plus provides three compelling perks to subscribers. For example, it makes use of a technology that has the most widespread use and the most advanced ecosystem in the world. This ensures that the Airtel network operates flawlessly on all 5G smartphones in India.
• The company claims to give the finest experience possible, including call connect times that are 20 to 30 times faster than they are presently, as well as excellent audio quality.
• The Airtel 5G Plus network is more ecologically friendly due to its exclusive power reduction technology. Airtel has been at the forefront of 5G innovation, constructing India’s first live 5G network in Hyderabad, the country’s first private 5G network at the BOSCH facility in Bengaluru, and collaborating with Mahindra & Mahindra to build India’s first 5G enabled auto manufacturing facility at its Chakan facility.

User persona

Buyer’s Persona

Profession:

Entrepreneur

• An international SIM card allows you to switch from domestic to foreign numbers.   
• One single SIM card covers connectivity internationally.
• Feel safe while traveling alone across India as sometimes accessing public wifi is not safe for operators with personal data.

Interest & Hobbies

• Playing basketball 
• Surfing Instagram 

Pain Points

• Though an internationally activated plan is not required outgoing services get turned off.
• A basic plan recharge of  49 or 399 is required 
• High pricing

Social Media Presence

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For now, let us continue with our case study.

Marketing Strategy of Airtel

As far as the social presence of Airtel & its competitors is concerned, Jio won comprehensively in the number of followers on Instagram. Airtel’s presence on social media has improved, its Facebook followers are growing to 500 million users. Even on Twitter with 2.5 million followers, @Airtel_Presence makes sure to get all the tweets with Airtel in its context and clear their queries.

Although their engagement rate is something the company has to work on. The above graph shows their Facebook engagement. When it comes to YouTube, Airtel is doing a decent job with more than 1.1k videos and almost 20 million views but loses the race with Jio in subscriber count: 342k to 2.63 million.

Now let us take a deeper dive into Airtel’s own digital marketing and campaign strategy.

How does this brand use Digital Marketing in its strategy?

Last year, Airtel began an influencer-driven campaign to market its 5G services. The campaign, titled “Future is Airtel 5G,” featured 27 renowned Indian influencers. It took home the prize for Best Influencer Marketing Campaign at Digies 2023, with a jury score of nine out of ten.

Airtel recreated the in-stadium experience of Kapil Dev’s memorable 175 not out against Zimbabwe at the 1983 Cricket World Cup using cutting-edge immersive video technologies via its high-speed 5G test network. A unique 175 Replayed video in 4K mode brought to life critical moments from the contest, which had no video footage owing to a TV technician’s strike.

India’s first hologram engagement with Kapil Dev enabled by 5G made the occasion much more thrilling. The renowned cricketer’s virtual avatar, powered by Airtel 5G and there on stage, interacted with the audience in real-time and took them through the key moments of his inning.

Marketing and advertising campaigns

Jingles like “ Har Ek friend Jaruri Hota hai”, and “Jo Tera hai, Wo Mera hai” for Gen Z have worked brilliantly for them while taglines like “one-touch Internet” attract Gen X and elders.

• Airtel has done several such campaigns with taglines like “Sab Kuch Karo, Fir Sahi Chuno”
• The Smartphone that works, India’s first 4G network and #expressyourself; has proved their obsession to win customers through an exceptional experience.
• Famous personalities like Sachin Tendulkar, A R Rahman, and Vidya Balan have also endorsed the brands earlier which has built a positive image among the people.
• Airtel follows a “matchbox strategy” that expands regularly in rural India.

The campaigns achieve their goals smartly through their dynamism, and warm, friendly appeal; all the more it helps them gain the trust of their customers. With their priority service as a part of platinum care, they have also attracted hustlers who like hassle-free service.

Bharti Airtel’s new campaign named “Öpen to Question” highlights its aim to resolve queries of every single customer, learn quickly from failures, and ensure they don’t get repeated. With this Airtel has secured top position on the ad diagnostics index.

Recently the brand launched a new marketing campaign to showcase the immense benefits of Airtel 5G Plus for its customers. The campaign presents the advantages and possibilities of the network in a modern and trendy way.

Airtel has also introduced its banking in 2017 Airtel Payments Bank, India’s first payments bank aims to take digital banking services to the unbanked over their mobile phones quickly and efficiently which contributes to the Government’s vision of Digital India and Financial Inclusion. However, this is constrained to only Airtel users.

Top 5 Competitors of Airtel 

• Reliance Jio : When Reliance Jio entered the market in 2016, it upended the Indian telecom business by providing high-speed 4G broadband at absurdly cheap pricing, sparking a price war and resulting in massive customer acquisitions. Jio had a strong 4G network with extensive coverage, quick internet, and affordable data prices. In order to build a complete ecosystem, the business also expanded into other digital services including Jio Fiber and JioMart.Jio’s continual technological and pricing innovation made it a strong opponent.
• Vodafone idea : It was formed in 2018 as a consequence of a merger between Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. By pooling its resources, it hoped to compete with Airtel and Jio. Vi has a large network presence in India and provides a number of data options, including 4G services. It also had a significant brand presence. Vi was facing financial difficulties and was working on network integration and strengthening its services in order to compete effectively.
• BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) : It was a state-owned telecom company with a substantial customer base, particularly in rural areas. It competed with private telecom operators like Airtel by providing low-cost services. Because of its enormous reach, BSNL had a massive network infrastructure and a strong client base, particularly in distant areas where private carriers had limited presence. To compete more effectively, BSNL faced financial and operational issues and needed to update its infrastructure.
• Tata Teleservices (Tata Docomo) : Before its merger with Bharti Airtel, Tata Teleservices was a major participant in the Indian telecom business. It provided GSM and CDMA services. Tata Teleservices had a strong brand and presence in several Indian circles. It provided affordable voice and data services. Bharti Airtel purchased Tata Teleservices’ consumer mobile business in 2019, strengthening Airtel’s market position.
• MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited) : It primarily served metropolitan areas such as Delhi and Mumbai. In certain areas, it competed with Airtel. MTNL was present in major urban areas and provided landline, internet, and mobile services. MTNL , like BSNL, had financial and operational issues, as well as the need to update its services.

Example of a Failed Campaign Or Backlash from Viewers

Airtel started the “Airtel 4G Challenge” campaign in 2017 to market its 4G network as the fastest and most reliable in India. The campaign stated that Airtel’s 4G network was faster than its competitors, notably attacking Reliance Jio’s 4G network. Backlash Consumers and competitors instantly criticized and reacted negatively to the ad. Reliance Jio, in particular, took issue with Airtel’s claims and accused the firm of dishonest advertising.

Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) involvement in regulation: ASCI was made aware of the problem after receiving numerous complaints against Airtel’s campaign. Response from the brand modifying the campaign Airtel changed their advertising in reaction to the issue and regulatory scrutiny.

The business made the decision to change the adverts to make it clear that the claim was supported by data from Ookla’s speed test. Based on the findings of its speed tests, Ookla, a company that provides web-based network diagnostic software and conducts international broadband testing, had in fact named Airtel the “Fastest Mobile Network” in India.

What are the Marketing Strategies of Airtel?

Airtel goes beyond calls and data, offering plans for every need. They reach customers everywhere through online platforms, stores, and partnerships. Social media and celebrity endorsements keep them connected and relevant, solidifying their position in India’s telecom market.

What is the Competitive Strategy of Airtel?

Airtel plays to win. They keep their customers happy with rewards and extras, making switching a hassle. Special plans for students and professionals show they care about everyone’s needs. By building a huge network and partnering with big names, Airtel makes it tough for anyone to compete.

What is the Positioning Strategy of Airtel?

Airtel positions itself as a provider that offers connectivity, understands customer needs, delivers value, and prioritizes accessibility and convenience. They strive to be a one-stop shop for all things mobile, catering to diverse segments and building a strong brand image through strategic partnerships.

What is the slogan of Airtel?

Airtel doesn’t have a single, consistent slogan throughout its history. They’ve used various slogans over time to reflect their current marketing focus. This is one of the examples: Aisi Azadi Aur Kahan ( this slogan was used for the idea of freedom and connectivity)

What is the Pricing Strategy of Airtel?

Airtel keeps prices in line with the competition. They also follow government rules to make sure everyone gets a fair deal. To fit everyone’s needs, they offer tons of plans with different features.

With its campaigns, Airtel wins over its customers and attracts a wide range of people from different walks of life. It also has international business holdings across Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Channel Islands. The company even plans to offer satellite broadband services in India by 2022.

As an organization grows bigger in scale, it has to deal with controversies and Airtel is no exception. It has been working on its allegation of privacy as well as has been in the news for it stands for social causes, the recent one being the Kerala floods. During it all, Airtel has been resilient and shown positive growth in its net profit, with a year-on-year increasing profit margin.

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Thank you for giving your valuable time to read this case study, we hope you found it useful. Do comment and share your thoughts. If you wish to be in touch, drop your details in the comment section, and we will reply.

Author's Note: My name is Aditya Shastri and I have written this case study with the help of my students from IIDE's online digital marketing courses in India . Practical assignments, case studies & simulations helped the students from this course present this analysis. Building on this practical approach, we are now introducing a new dimension for our online digital marketing course learners - the Campus Immersion Experience. If you found this case study helpful, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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Aditya Shastri

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Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs...... [Read full bio]

“Airtel’s wide-reaching campaigns and international presence showcase its influence, despite facing controversies. Their resilience and positive growth highlight their adaptability. IIDE’s focus on practical solutions aligns well with today’s data-driven world. Thanks for sharing this insightful case study!”

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IVR and Its Use-Cases To Improve Customer Experience

In a digital world, customers are always short on time and are flooded with options. Customers have to be kept at the heart of business strategy and organizations must devise ways of resolving their problems fast to stay ahead of the curve. Creating a delightful customer experience has become one of the most important determinants of the success and reputation of an organization, over time. Even as companies worldwide switch to digital communication, voice interactions with businesses remain one of the most preferred communication channels for customers.

IVR, or Interactive Voice Systems – an automated phone system that facilitates interactions with the callers through voice or phone keypad selections, came into being in the 1970s.

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The earlier IVR systems used DTMF (Dual-tone multi-frequency) to identify the commands callers issued from their touch-tone phone keypads. With the adoption of evolved technology, IVR systems have gradually become more customer-centric. An important milestone in the evolution of IVR systems occurred in the ’90s with computer telephony integration (CTI) – which allowed IVRs to be integrated into customer relationship management (CRM) software or billing systems, helping customers self-serve. Today with the technology developments in Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, etc. IVR systems have become more advanced, giving rise to many kinds of IVR systems like –

IVR for Self-Service – These are automated voice services that allow businesses to service high call volumes at optimised costs. These systems are also called dynamic IVRs that can identify & segment callers, resolve their queries without the need for transferring the call to a live agent unless the query is unresolved by the automated system.

Hosted IVR – These IVR systems are hosted on cloud or software platforms , allowing businesses to run such IVRs through the internet 24X7. These IVRs allow businesses to offer an always-on customer interaction channel.

Agent-Assisted IVR – With these solutions, an agent can initiate an automated dialogue with the customer with pre-recorded phrases. With developments in conversational AI, these systems can sound near human-like. These can simplify customer interaction by eliminating the need for customers to go through complex-structured menu options.

Visual IVR Systems – Visual interactive voice response adds a multichannel visual interface to the IVR experience, utilising communications channels like smartphones and computers. These can help streamline the information-gathering process about a caller and make it more comprehensive.

Benefits of IVR Systems and How they Can deliver Superior Customer Experiences

The phone has always been the first channel that customers prefer when they want a faster resolution of their queries. Research suggests that 51% of consumers believe that the fastest channel to get resolution of their problem is through a phone, and 83% of consumers will stop interacting with a business after a poor IVR experience. There’s no denying the fact that delivering a delightful experience on the voice channels is extremely crucial.

When designing an IVR strategy businesses should keep in mind the following things to provide a better experience –

• Use customer research to understand the questions that customers might want answers to.
• Develop an easy-to-use menu with minimal re-directions so that customers easily reach where they want to go.
• Always provide an alternative human contact option.
• Integrate a way to route calls to customer agents best equipped to handle the query.
• Empower customers by integrating self-service options.
• Integrate business applications into IVR menus like billing so that customers can directly perform activities through the system.

How IVR Systems Provide Better Customer Experiences

Save Customers’ time

The number of human customer executives might be limited but with the IVR system that is not the case. IVR systems can help lower the wait time for inbound callers. Businesses can use IVR systems to optimise the contact centre operations by triggering self-service IVR systems instead of making customers wait. These systems enable customers to quickly get a resolution to simple queries without the need for a human agent. This also allows lowering the wait time for customers who wish to speak to a human agent.

Post you may like to read : How Call Deflection Can Help Enterprises Deliver Better Customer Experience

Personalised interactions

Every customer is unique and IVR systems when bolstered with technologies like web-based chatbots or an RPA solution – allow the embedded AI-ML solutions to keep learning from the interactions and become smarter. With this power, IVR systems can easily understand intent, be responsive, converse with the customer accordingly and offer personalised solutions.

Empathetic human conversations

As IVR systems take the load off from the contact centre of the simpler calls, the customer executives can handle the human interactions with much more empathy. This helps with improved customer engagement. These systems when connected to an RPA or RDA further amplify the efficiency of the customer executive and improve customer experiences.

IVR-powered customer surveys

Research suggests that customers’ response rate on IVR surveys is much higher than online surveys. IVR surveys when integrated into the interaction can provide businesses real-time feedback on the calls and further improve their customer experience.

Round-the-clock customer support

IVR systems help customers reach out to businesses at any time without the need for human agents. With highly advanced IVR systems, most queries can be solved, helping businesses offer stellar customer experience and gain loyalty.

IVR embedded to apps

High volumes of calls can be streamlined by integrating the IVR system into business interaction channels like apps. If a business is getting a large volume of calls about a particular problem for e.g. delay in-order delivery, payment issues, etc. IVR embedded directly into apps will help customers reach out to businesses in real-time while accessing the app and get a resolution.

Scale customer support with multi-language IVR

IVR allows businesses to scale their customer support in different markets requiring different languages. With text-to-speech technology, offering multi-language support has become even simpler. Businesses just need to input a text file in one language that the system translates into required languages and automatically generates audio messages. This helps businesses provide hyper-localization of the customer interactions in international as well as domestic markets.

Wrapping up

In today’s world, businesses can no longer afford to offer suboptimal customer experience. In a world of plenty, poor customer experiences at one channel can drive customers away forever, even if the product is superior. Voice or phone interaction has always been the most preferred channel for customers. With evolving technology, IVR systems can help streamline the contact centre interactions and provide a delightful and personalised customer experience at an optimal cost.

Explore the possibilities of enhancing your customer experience with impactful CPaaS solutions by Airtel IQ .

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Airtel vs Jio Battle – How did Airtel survived Jio’s Disruption in Telecom?

by Aron Almeida | Jun 17, 2021 | Case Study , News | 0 comments

A Case Study on Airtel’s Journey after Jio entered Market: Do you know that India has the second-largest market in telecom industry by the number of users, thanks to its gigantic mobile using population! Despite this, we only see 2.5 players. Out of this only Jio thrives whereas Airtel manages to compete and VI looks into an uncertain future. Airtel vs Jio vs VI, the three side battle which started with Jio making its debut.

In this article, we take a look at how Airtel managed to survive the Jio storm. Keep Reading to find out!

Table of Contents

The Backstory of the Telecom Industry

Bharti Airtel is one of the oldest operators in the telecom industry, surviving for over 2 decades. But if we take a look at Airtel’s hold in the Indian market for the period before 5 years we would notice that the company dominated the Indian market despite facing huge competition. So much so that the company even expanded its business to Africa. 

However, Reliance ’s entry into the telecom industry with Jio took all the existing operators by shock. Jio offered their sim cards with 4G data capabilities for free. This also included free 4G data and free VoLTE calls for almost a year.

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This took the industry by storm as the data packs provided by service providers used to last a month. But now we use the same data in a day thanks to Jio. Jio users could now access up to 4GB 4G data per day for free whereas existing providers offered 1-3GB 4G packs per month.

Although the quality of network provided by Jio paled in comparison to others it was impossible to compete with someone who offered their services for free. 

This forced the existing operators into damage control. 2016 started out with more than 12 operators, whereas only 3 private operators remain today. Within 6 months Jio managed to gain over 100 Million subscribers.

However, Jio did not stop after the free offer period. Once that was over they introduced the cheapest 4G data plans in the country. Here too the packs included data per day which otherwise were offered per month. 

The Telecom War in India – Jio, Airtel, Vodafone?

Supreme Court Verdict

However, Jio coming to existence was not the only bad thing that happened to telcos. In a court battle, the lasted more than a decade the courts ordered telcos to pay up their unpaid duties in AGR fees.

Airtel’s total liability is estimated to be ₹41,507 Crore. Vodafone Idea ’s total liability was estimated to be ₹39,313 Crore.  

Within 3 years, Jio ranked second among telcos when it came to the number of subscribers and become everyone’s favourite in the Airtel vs Jio battle.

Airtel and Vodafone Idea on the other hand ranked themselves among the companies to have the worst quarter in Indian history. They declared a combined loss of Rs. 73,000 crores. At the same time, Jio declared profitability. 

Why were these top telcos not able to handle Jio entering the market?

The telcos in 2016 which dealt mainly in 2G and 3G faced a very different digital environment than what we have today.

Although apps today that provide OTT content, music, and live TV existed they were not nearly as popular during the 3G era. Nor did the telcos make an effort to make data cheap enough to encourage this digitization. 

These telcos were still stuck in a world of voice calls. These telcos focussed on lobbying while spending too much on spectrum fees.

They also focussed on expanding their customer base outside India instead of providing the best services at the best rates possible. When they met a worthy competitor they suffered.

Where has Airtel reached today in Airtel vs Jio battle?

(Source: Business Insider )

Taking notice of the stats above one would expect the telecom sector to become a monopoly. But in reality, Airtel has managed to thrive whereas Vodafone and Idea have merged to survive the onslaught. 

Over the years Jio has managed to become a market leader in terms of the subscriber base of almost 411 million for the last quarter FY20-FY21, while Airtel and VI’s stood at 307.94 million and 269.8 million respectively.

Although Jio is currently the undisputed leader right now it faces serious issues when it comes to active users.

According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)  Jio had the lowest active user base at  79.01%. On the other hand, VI had  89.63% and Airtel had 97.44% of its users active. 

What was the Main Cause of This?

As observed earlier, although Jio offered its services at cheaper rates the quality of service was no match to Airtel. Once Jio was forced to increase its rates, Airtel adjusted its rates too and then there was little difference.

The price difference did not matter when Airtel’s rates were slightly higher than Jio as they offered better quality. The main USP that Jio held onto was now washed away.

Also, Jio faces concerns about active user numbers as their older customers are shifting to other networks or simply using Jio as a backup sim on their dual sim phones.

Jio’s network quality has suffered severely because of the limited spectrums available.   This bet by Airtel on quality has also bought it more quality users who are willing to spend.

When it comes to data consumption Airtel’s users consume 16 GB a month per user and 1,005 min a month per customer. On the other hand, Jio customers consume 12 GB a month per user and 776 min a month per customer.

5G Network in India: Who is winning among Jio, Airtel, Vi?

Closing Thoughts 

Airtel here cannot manage to rest of its laurels for having a high active user base. Jio too has identified this drawback and has accordingly acted on it in the recent spectrum sales to improve its quality.

In addition to this, the fate of the telecom industry will be decided on the basis of the telcos adaptability to 5G. With the way things are with Idea struggling to survive if it fails to raise funds, its customer base will simply be carved up by Airtel and Jio. 

What do you think about the future of the telecom industry and how does the Airtel vs Jio vs VI battle gonna take shape? Let us know in the comments below. Happy Reading!

Aron, Bachelors in Commerce from Mangalore University, entered the world of Equity research to explore his interests in financial markets. Outside of work, you can catch him binging on a show, supporting RCB, and dreaming of visiting Kasol soon. He also believes that eating kid’s ice-cream is the best way to teach them taxes.

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