Jio@10: From making data affordable to building India’s digital future

PRIYABRAT BISWAL

BHUBANESWAR, AUGUST 25, 2026

 As Reliance Jio prepares to complete 10 years of operations next month, the company is entering its second decade with an ambition that extends far beyond mobile connectivity. From making high-speed data affordable in 2016, Jio is now building an ecosystem spanning 5G, fixed broadband, devices, cloud computing, enterprise networks, artificial intelligence and next-generation technologies.

When Jio entered the Indian market, average monthly mobile-data consumption was below 0.2 GB per user and a gigabyte of data cost around ₹228. Today, the price is about ₹7.9 per GB, while average monthly consumption on Jio’s network has climbed to 42.3 GB. The number of 4G and 5G users in India has grown from fewer than 10 million 4G consumers in 2016 to more than 938 million by December 2025.

Jio now serves 524.4 million customers and has 361.6 million monthly active users across its digital services. Its standalone 5G customer base rose from 253 million at the end of December 2025 to 268.5 million by March 31, 2026, making it the largest 5G customer base outside China.

The impact of cheaper connectivity has spread across the wider economy. Digital-wallet users increased to 556 million by FY2026, while streaming and OTT audiences expanded to about 601 million. Payments, online education, entertainment, commerce and small-business activity have increasingly been built on affordable internet access.

The next phase of Jio’s strategy is to own and develop more of the technology underneath its network. The company has built a proprietary technology stack covering cloud-native radio access networks, a 5G core, operating and business-support systems, fixed-wireless solutions, AI-driven network automation and digital-service platforms. It has filed 6,817 patent applications covering 4G, 5G, 6G, AI and cloud technologies.

For India, the scale of this investment marks a significant shift in the country’s technology journey. Rather than simply adopting the next generation of technologies developed elsewhere, India is increasingly building the capabilities, intellectual property and technological platforms needed to help shape those technologies itself.

Jio has 11,303 employees engaged in research, digital products and technology development, accounting for around 40 per cent of its workforce. Its innovation efforts have also resulted in 6,817 patent applications spanning technologies such as 4G, 5G, 6G, artificial intelligence and cloud computing. The company’s objective is increasingly to develop technology in India rather than simply deploy technologies created elsewhere.

Its 5G rollout illustrates the scale of that effort. Jio completed nationwide 5G coverage in about 15 months and reached around 268 million 5G customers within 42 months. The standalone architecture also provides a foundation for network slicing, private 5G and machine-to-machine applications.

Jio’s expansion is also reshaping the home-broadband market. Its home broadband customer base crossed 27 million by March 31, 2026, making it India’s largest home-broadband provider. Fixed-wireless technology is allowing Jio to reach locations where laying fibre is slower or more expensive.

The company’s proposition goes beyond providing an internet connection. JioTV+, cloud storage, gaming, connected appliances, security devices and cloud computing can all operate over the same broadband infrastructure. JioCloud PC, for instance, points towards a model in which computing and applications reside in the cloud while the television or another affordable device becomes the user interface. JioSpaceFiber is intended to complement fibre, mobile and fixed-wireless networks with satellite connectivity for hard-to-reach areas.

Even with extensive network coverage, affordability remains an issue for consumers using legacy phones. JioBharat, priced at ₹799, is designed to bring digital services to this segment through an affordable feature phone offering UPI payments, live television, HD voice, camera capabilities and support for 23 languages.

The device strategy sits alongside JioBook, JioOS, the Jio set-top box, MyJio and cloud computing, giving the company multiple points of entry into the digital lives of consumers.

Jio is simultaneously taking its technology deeper into enterprises. Its network is used by more than 90 per cent of state electricity distribution companies and more than 80 per cent of operational airports, while its enterprise services are used by 10 of India’s top 12 public-sector banks and 20 of the top 21 private banks, according to the company’s source material.

Private 5G networks could further change that market by connecting industrial machinery, cameras, sensors and automated systems. Jio’s “5G-in-a-box” proposition is designed to simplify such deployments, while JioThings, cloud services, cybersecurity and managed connectivity add further layers to its enterprise offering.

Artificial intelligence is now emerging as the intelligence layer across this ecosystem. JioBrain is being developed for predictive insights, anomaly detection and network automation, with the longer-term objective of making networks increasingly capable of identifying congestion and problems before customers experience them.

Reliance Intelligence is being positioned as a new growth engine covering AI infrastructure, platforms and services for consumers, enterprises and governments.

The company has announced a sovereign AI infrastructure initiative in Jamnagar, with the first 120 MW phase expected by the end of 2026 and powered by clean energy. It is also developing AI services in 22 Indian languages, including JioBharatIQ, AI Vyapar, JioHealthIQ, JioLearnIQ and JioKrishiIQ, targeting consumers, small businesses, healthcare, education and agriculture.

Jio’s vision also extends to making AI available through affordable devices and the Jio network. The company wants to make AI more affordable by the end of the decade, while AI-enabled network management, multilingual content creation and applications across Reliance businesses are already being developed.

Jio Platforms reported FY2026 revenue from operations of ₹1,46,885 crore and EBITDA of ₹76,255 crore. Its network operating expenses also declined as a share of total income, while net leverage fell to 0.36x.

The company’s original mission was to remove the scarcity of connectivity. Its next mission is broader: to make technology itself more accessible while developing more of that technology in India.

At the time of Jio’s launch, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh D Ambani said broadband and digital services should no longer be a luxury or a scarce commodity “rationed amongst the privileged few.” As Jio enters its second decade, that philosophy is being extended into healthcare, education, agriculture, environment, enterprise technology and AI.

The larger bet is now clear: connect India, build for India and increasingly take Indian technology to the world. Jio’s next decade will determine whether the company can turn the scale that made India one of the world’s largest digital markets into technological capabilities that make the country a significant technology developer and exporter.