Reliance Jio launch will be ‘extremely disruptive’ for the telecom market: Kumar Mangalam Birla

Reliance Jio, is yet to start commercial operations, but it has already started giving sleepless nights to rival companies. The latest organisation to express its concern is the Aditya Birla Group, which is the promoter of Idea Cellular, India’s third largest telecom operator. Kumar Mangalam Birla in an interview to ET Now said that RelianceJio launch will be ‘extremely disruptive’ for the telecom market. He also said Reliance Jio will enter market with huge asset base & deep pockets.

“Idea has enough capacity to serve the market for 10 years & has 4G footprint in 80% of existing markets.” He even added that Idea will emerge stronger on the back of strong customer base. As the E-commerce business returns are uncertain, Birla said that he won’t be throwing big money in this business. Commenting on the telecom business he said that “Idea has enough capacity to serve the market for 10 years & has 4G footprint in 80% of existing markets.” He even added that Idea will emerge stronger on the back of strong customer base.

Jio’s 4G services are expected to be launched in India in by October according to a report by CLSA. The Reliance Industries-owned telecom company’s maiden plan — likely to be called Freedom — may offer free voice services bundled with data, priced at least 25% lower than current offerings of top rivals.

Stating that defence can be a growing sector if government provides the right thrust, Birla said that he will be taking cautious and calibrated steps in the defence sector and will also take a call on the defence foray in a next few months. According to reports, Kumar Mangalam Birla controlled group has started exploratory talks with Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defence contractor, US helicopter maker Sikorsky and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The $47 billion group has appointed one of the Big Four global consultants to help them with strategies and identify partners.