That's a wrap from us. We've got plenty of stories in the pipeline on Reliance Jio's future plans and what it means for consumers and the industry. Stay tuned to our homepage for more. Thank you.Mukesh Ambani reiterated on Tuesday that voice calls would remain free. Many had considered this to be unprecedented, but Ambani himself explained a year ago that it is not:“I had met the CEO of Verizon and he had said, ‘Oh in your country you still charge for voice? We stopped doing that long ago." This was 2014. The world-over, it has happened. We have been consistently saying this, but nobody believed us.”Apart from 4G services, Reliance Jio has of late also been trying to reach out to customers who have outdated smartphones that only support 2G/3G connectivity. Its Jio-Fi device serves a portable hotspot that allows free 4G calls through the Jio app and 1 GB free data daily.Here is a back-of-the-envelope calculation to show where Reliance is relative to its rivals. Based on the pricing announced by Reliance, it would require the company to have 100 million subscribers to the Jio Prime Membership Programme for its quarterly revenues to match Idea Cellular’s standalone quarterly revenue and 170 million to match Bharti Airtel’s quarterly revenue.To put things in perspective, a Jio Prime member will pay Rs 3636 till March 31, 2018 to avail of unlimited free calls and 1 GB free data daily.A quick look at what Jio's competitors currently charge prepaid customers tells quite a story. While Airtel charges Rs 296 for 1 GB of data, Vodafone has a plan where you get 1 GB for 24 hours at Rs 97. Jio Prime subscribers will pay just Rs 10 per GB.For those of you who want to sign up for Jio Prime membership, you can do so from March 1 through the app or by visiting your nearest Reliance Jio/Reliance Digital outlet.A potential hurdle for Jio's expansion could be that it still does not have sufficient points of interconnect. The country's telecom regulator had earlier recommended a combined penalty of Rs 3,050 crore on Idea, Airtel and Vodafone for denying Reliance Jio adequate points of interconnect in most telecom circles. It contended that the carriers’ actions appeared to be aimed at stifling competition and were against public interest.Moneycontrol's Shishir Asthana weighs in with a comment piece on what Jio's plans could mean for the industry. Do read:Before Jio’s launch, incumbent operators were on an average charging Rs 250 per GB of data. With the Jio Prime Offer announced on Tuesday exclusively for its 100 million subscribers, the price of 1 GB of data has effectively been beaten down to Rs 10.RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani sent out a subtle message to Jio's competitors while announcing the new tariff plans. Here's what he said:"In the last few months, hundreds of offers have been launched by the industry. These plans have created a lot of confusion in the markets and customers are having what I call 'data and value anixety', whether they are getting the best value for the price that they are paying."It's going to be interesting to see how other telecom operators react. Jio has basically thrown down the gauntlet by saying whatever data plans you offer, we will give 20% more data for the same price.Jio users consume nearly as much mobile data as the entire United States of America, and nearly 50 percent more mobile data than all of China.Analysts tracking the telecom sector point out that Jio's announcement of charging customers post April is actually beneficial for incumbents as they can now compete on tariffs and work to retain customers.If you want mega returns, you need panic and that panic which was there in telecom three-four months back is missing now. So, I would say there is no panic in any sector at this point of time, says S Naren, Executive Director at Chief Investment Officer at ICICI Prudential in an interview with CNBC-TV18.Telecom subscriber base grew by 21.02 million to cross 1.12 billion at end-November 2016 on account of large number of additions by Reliance Jio.In a Q3 FY17 result analysis of Idea Cellular, Jeffries identified telecom issues – weak voice, increased capex for data and intensifying competitive intensity due to entry of R Jio. R Jio puts question on Idea’s positioning as the third largest operator, partially offset by the merger discussion with Vodafone, said the report.In an interview with CNBC-TV18 GV Giri, Head of Research at IIFL said that there should be a healthy reasonable concentration of market power in the hands of these three-four players compared to what we have seen in the last 7-8 years because that has been very detrimental for their profitability and their ability to invest.Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications-Aircel-MTS combine are reportedly considering joining forces to counter the tough competition from Reliance Jio Infocomm, reported the Economic Times yesterday. In the light of possible mergers, a few strong players will come to dominate the market.The telecom industry is heading for a consolidation with Vodafone and Idea merger around the corner. If the deal is successful, the combined entity will create India's largest telecom firm with a revenue share of around 40 percent and a subscriber base of over 380 million, according to India Ratings and Research.Read:Other financial dailies -- The Economic Times and Business Standard -- have also reported on Ambani's Jio briefing.Mahesh Uppal of Com First India said that the viability model of the sector is under a cloud, although it is good news for customers.Shares of Idea Cellular fell nearly 2 percent intraday, while Bharti Airtel fell over 3 percent intraday, following the announcements.Telecom stocks fell between two and three percent intraday, possibly following the positive announcements made by Ambani for its Jio customers.Listed companies were waiting for Jio to start charging customers. From hereon, the case for incumbents improves a little bit, says an analyst.Ambani needs to increase market share. He has largest market share in terms of traffic in data. He wants users and eventually a share of revenues. It is good for the consumer. It will take a huge pressure off the incumbents., says an analyst.Airtel is down by 2.3 percent. Idea is down by 0.5 percent.Ambani finishes his speech.A custom-made programme Jio Prime Membership programme will be available for ony current Jio customers and for those who noin us or before mMarch 31. All of these jio customers can enrol for the Jio prime membership for the full year for a nominal one-time fee of Rs 99. Jio prime members to enjoy happy new offer at Rs 303 a month.Jio we will not only match the highest selling tariffs of each of the other leading telcos, but we will also provide 20 percent more data in each of these plans.From April Jio will charge. All domestic voice calls to any nework will be free across india, to any network. There will be no roaming charges no hidden charges and no blackout days.By end of 2017, the Jio network will be present in nearly all cities, towns and villages of India and we will cover 99 percent of our country’s population.We have more than double the number of 4G base stations when compared to all those indian operators put together, says Ambani.Jio customers have created records. Every single day, Jio users make more than 200 crore minutes of voice and video calls. Before Jio, India was 150in world’s broadband penenetration for data. Last month, Jio users consumed more than 100 crore gigabytes of data.Jio has added 7 customers on its network every single second of every single day within those 170 days, says Ambani.Ambani begins speech. Says within 170 days of its launch, Jio has crossed the 100 million customer mark on wireless broadband network. He thanks every of his customers. An achievement of India and Indians, says Ambani.Airtel reached the 50-million milestone in 12 years and 100 million in a further 3 years. Vodafone and Idea took 13 years each.Telecom industry acquired 100 million subscribers in 13 years.Telecom stocks in focus ahead of Ambani's briefing.Jio's Happy New Year offer, which offers free voice and data services, lapses on March 31. The question on everyone's mind is whether Jio will look to extend the offer? The other option, according to CNBC-TV18, could be that Jio may start a commercial launch.Analysts say the company is likely to announce plans for new subscribers.For Bharti and Idea , voice and data revenues fell in excess of 10 percent on a quarter on quarter basis in Q3.

Jio acquired 50 million subscribers in 83 days since commercial launch on September 5 and 100 million in 170 days.

In this period, industry’s total connection growth rates have declined.



1:10 PM Last week, in Nasscom Leadership summit, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said his telecom venture Jio has crossed a customer base of 100 million. "When we started Jio, we set a target for ourselves that we will acquire 100 million customers in shortest time. Even we didn't imagine that we would do it in months," Ambani said.

Jio crossed 50 million subscribers in just 83 days, adding at an average rate of 6 lakh subscribers per day and surpassing the subscriber addition rates of global giants like Facebook, WhatsApp and Skype.Speaking at the summit, Ambani said data will be the “next oil” – reinforcing an opinion he had expressed at the launch of the multi-billion dollar Reliance Jio venture – and said it would trigger the fourth revolution.Analysts say that Jio might not go for a commercial launch, given the fact that interconnect issues aren't sorted out yet.According to an article in the Economic Times, it is estimated that about 40 percent of voice calls will be riding on VoLTE (voice over LTE technology with 4G) by 2020. The paper was quoting Aircel's Chief Technology Officer Sameer Dave.