Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom operator in the country, had a larger brand value than its arch-rival, Reliance Jio. In the telecom sector, only three private players remain in India and out of them, Airtel is at the top in brand value in 2022. Jio is in the second position, while Vi is in the third.
According to a report published by Brand Finance, Airtel’s brand value in 2022 stood at USD $7.7 billion, followed by Jio at USD $ 5.1 billion. Vodafone Idea (Vi), the third-largest telco in the country, had a brand value of USD $767 million.
Airtel’s ARPU is Higher than Jio
Bharti Airtel’s average revenue per user (ARPU) figure is higher than that of Jio. In Q4 FY22, the ARPU of Airtel was Rs 178, while Jio’s ARPU was Rs 168. This means that Airtel is earning Rs 10 more than Jio out of each of its customers.
Airtel also has a much better VLR subscriber percentage compared to Jio. This means that most of Airtel’s customers are active, while the same is not the case for Jio.
Jio Has a Much Larger Subscriber Base than Airtel
Jio’s tariffs are slightly on the more affordable end of the scale compared to Airtel’s. This helps the telco in attracting the masses. At the same time, Airtel wants to place its services and networks in the more premium category.
Airtel wants consumers to look at its services as meant for people looking for something premium and for which they are ready to pay more. Airtel has never bothered to offer affordable services as it doesn’t want to lose its market standing and branding.
Vi’s brand value is severely under USD $1 billion, which is not something that a lot of investors would be content about. Jio is also expected to go for an IPO (Initial Public Offer) in 2023, and the telco would want its brand value to grow as fast as possible so that it can get a solid start independently in the market.
