Author: Dannon Desouza, G.J. Advani Law College

We all have not only heard but also use a SIM card from one of the various different internet and call service providers in our nation such as Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea, BSNL etc, but has anyone ever wondered where you truly are getting your money's worth? One might think that with each brand bringing their own new unique plans and offers such as the free SIM card for all by Jio or the free Xstream play account with Airtel, these giant tech conglomerates are actually losing money with such deals, but in reality, their pockets are being filled much deeper than we know. 

The data companies as we know weren’t the only ones at the inception of wireless cell service back in 1995, when the first mobile phone call between Union Minister of Communications, Sukh Ram and Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu was made. Indian as well as foreign companies raced to be the leading corporation behind mobile phone service. Indian companies such as MTNL, Aircel, as well as foreign brands such as Axiata and Modi Telstra all were among the first of many to try their hand at becoming the monopoly of the Indian telecommunications market. India provided a rich base for a wide number of users as telecommunications started becoming a greater need around the world. The period between 2004-2019 proved to be a major status provider and set the ground for the telecommunications future we enjoy today.

Companies in the telecommunications industry were getting in and out left, right and centre. From foreign brands such as Virgin Mobile and Etisalat completely abandoning their operations in the country, to other foreign subsidiaries such as Norwegian Telenor selling their share to Airtel in 2018 and Indian start-up Aircel even filing for bankruptcy in the same year, it all started shaping up and paving the way for two major companies, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. Bharti Airtel had been in the business since its inception in 1995, whilst Jio was formed over 20 years later in 2016 under parent company Reliance. Although currently there are 4 functional service operators in the country, namely Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea and BSNL, the major challengers are still mainly Jio and Airtel with both retaining 482 million and 392 million users respectively. In comparison Vodafone Idea and BSNL do not come as close with 202 million and 92 million respectively. The once telecommunications giants in the country, Vodafone and Idea Communications were forced to merge in 2018 after being unable to compete with the competition brought by Reliance’s Jio and Bharti Airtel.

With rapid urbanisation came rapid developments in the wireless telecommunications world. Wireless home internet setups (Wi-Fi) started becoming a need in every household and with that both Jio and Airtel succeeded in branching out into the fibre net era, establishing themselves as household wireless network names amongst already established Internet Service Providers such as Hathway, Tata Play, Excitel, ACT Fibernet etc. There is an increasing competition especially between Jio and Airtel to broaden their scope in these fields by now diving into Air Fibre. 

In 2017, Bharti Airtel Limited filed a case against Reliance Industries Limited and Reliance Jio Infocom Limited, alleging their infringement of provisions of sections 3 and 4 of the Competition Act of 2002. The main contention by Bharti Airtel Limited is that Jio as a telecommunications brand added pricing and offers at its inception which was so low that it was completely unable to be matched by any other telecommunication service. It wasn’t that this a competitive price but rather the fact that Jio was backed by its owner Reliance Industries Limited which had already established itself as the biggest company in the entire country with funding and revenue which could never have been matched by Airtel or any other company for that matter. With this, Jio was able to manage any losses it faced in its first few months by having Reliance Industries Limited cover all losses suffered in a pro-bono manner so that Jio could well and truly gain a large number of users and add to its subscriber base. This was deemed anti-competitive by Airtel as it suggested that Jio was trying to force a monopoly in the market and drive out any competitors. It was also noted that there was an unfair advantage for Jio in the 4G station geographical market as Anil Ambani led RCOM had a massive holding on the 4G spectrum. 

The point Airtel brought across was that Jio was not only aiming to form a monopoly by driving away competitors, but also it would in turn after gaining market monopoly drive consumer prices so high as to recoup their losses suffered initially. After analysis it was determined that Reliance Jio did initially for a few years offer free telecom and internet services to gather a large base in the telecommunications market in both rural and urban regions of the nation. They had provided these services free of cost for a minimum of 6 months even though they continuously suffered losses.

It is safe to say that currently Jio doesn’t have a complete monopoly although it is at a substantial lead compared to the other telecommunications providers in the market. Reliance Industries themselves have their stakes in many different spheres such as entertainment, energy, retail, textiles, media and petrochemicals. Very soon they could be a leading factor in every sector throughout the nation with a majority hand in all. This will give the citizens of India very few options when it comes to selecting a lot of different things. A monopoly can only work against a consumer which can see sudden jumps in price which will benefit no one but the company alone. 

Mishra, Tejaswa, and Punyashree S. Biswal. “CASE ANALYSIS of BHARTI AIRTEL LTD. V. RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LTD. AND RELIANCE JIO INFOCOM LTD. .” Indian Journal of Integrated Research in Law , vol. II, no. V, ijirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CASE-ANALYSIS-OF-BHARTI-AIRTEL-LTD-V-RELIANCE-INDUSTRIES-LTD-AND-RELIANCE-JIO-INFOCOM-LTD.pdf.

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