Jio completes 10 years, takes telecom into the digital era
In Short
A decade after launch, Jio reports Rs 1.47 lakh crore revenue from operations and Rs 76,255 crore EBITDA for FY26
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Jio completes 10 years, takes telecom into the digital era
Mumbai: Reliance Jio, which launched commercial operations in the country igniting a transformation that changed how people connect, communicate, and live, has completed a decade of its service and has rewritten the definition of a telecommunications operator.
Over the last one decade, the regional market has transitioned from extreme digital scarcity to a playground of digital abundance through the entry of Jio as a telecom player. In the unified Andhra Pradesh Circle, which represents the vast telecommunications service area encompassing the dual Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the impact has been nothing short of a complete structural and social rebirth. Over the last decade, the regional market has transitioned from extreme digital scarcity to a playground of digital abundance.
There was a time (2016), when switching off mobile data was almost a physical reflex for Indian subscribers. Videos on mobile networks were strictly avoided, software updates were postponed indefinitely, and streaming on a cellular connection felt like an extravagance reserved for the ultra-wealthy. In 2016, the average monthly mobile data consumption in India was below 0.2 GB (200 MB) per subscriber. At the same time, a single gigabyte of data cost around Rs 228. Fewer than 10 million Indians had access to 4G networks, and average download speeds struggled to cross a meager 2.5 Mbps. This was the digital landscape that Reliance Jio set out to disrupt.
According to Jio, by treating high-speed bandwidth as a fundamental public utility rather than a luxury, Jio fundamentally altered the economics of internet access. Today, in 2026, the cost of a gigabyte of data has plummeted by approximately 97 per cent to roughly Rs 7.9. Active high-speed 4G and 5G subscribers across India have climbed to around 938 million. On Jio's network, the change in consumer behavior is staggering: an average subscriber now consumes 42.3 GB every month.
Starting from absolutely no reported subscribers in August 2016, Jio entered the market with immediate force, recording 12.4 lakh users in its very first month of commercial operations (September 2016). Over the course of the next decade, Jio's subscriber base grew to an astonishing 3.258 crore by June 2026. This represents an absolute gain of 3.134 crore subscribers over ten years, translating to an incredible Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 39.9 per cent.
Closing the Global Telecom Gap
Historically, India was a late adopter of telecom standards. When 4G technology launched globally around 2009, widespread adoption in India lagged by roughly eight years, only gaining momentum with Jio's arrival in late 2016. With 5G, however, Jio completely closed that global gap. Commercial deployments began worldwide around 2019, and Jio launched its commercial 5G services in late 2022, narrowing the adoption lag to a fraction of previous cycles. Jio's 5G rollout was executed with unprecedented speed and scale.
The company completed nationwide 5G coverage in just 15 months, and accumulated a massive base of approximately 268 million 5G customers within 42 months of its commercial launch. This represents the fastest 5G rollout of its scale in global telecom history. This shift is backed by a massive research and development engine. Jio currently employs 11,303 people exclusively in research and technology development, representing roughly 40 percent of its total workforce. This R&D powerhouse has successfully filed 6,817 patents spanning 4G, 5G, next-generation 6G, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing.
Across India, Jio now serves 524.4 million active customers. For the financial year ended March 31, 2026 (FY2026), the digital giant reported an impressive revenue from operations of Rs 1,46,885 crore, alongside an EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) of Rs 76,255 crore. Ultimately, Jio's ten-year journey has rewritten the definition of a telecommunications operator.
Jio began in September 2016 by solving for basic, affordable connectivity. It then systematically expanded into high-speed fiber broadband, low-cost devices, high-capacity cloud infrastructure, enterprise operating networks, and is now layering IoT, next-generation communications, and artificial intelligence on top of its physical footprint.
