Contrary to industry speculations, Reliance Jio will not bring disruptive 4G pricing to take on incumbent carriers, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, according to a report in Economic Times. Brokerage firm UBS, in a note, said that the Mukesh Ambani company will try to distinguish its high-speed broadband services in `quality terms’, once it launches commercially.
"Jio aims to differentiate on the basis of quality of service rather than engaging in an aggressive price war with market leaders,” UBS said.
The ET report said that Jio’s emphasis on quality comes after it lost out on the first-mover advantage to its biggest rival, Bharti Airtel.
Airtel has strategically maximised data spectrum holdings by acquiring spectrum through trading route. It has now become a pan-India 4G player even before the Mukesh Ambani-led newcomer has launched fast mobile broadband services commercially.
According to Deutsche Bank, Bharti Airtel has been tactical in acquiring the largest amount of incremental spectrum since 2014, which has helped it pre-empt Jio by launching 4G on a pan-India basis. The spectrum acquisition spree has also helped Airtel to increase the competitive gap with incumbent peers -- Vodafone and Idea -- which remain spectrum constrained in their key markets,” Deutsche Bank said in a note.
UBS has predicted a Jio soft launch by late-April.
