India: mobile cellular subscriptions 2021

The number of mobile wireless subscriptions was around 1.15 billion across India in 2021, a slight increase from the previous year. The number of subscriptions reached the highest level in 2018. Reliance Jio was the leading telecom provider in recent years.

Reliance Jio

Reliance Jio Infocomm, popularly known as Jio, is an Indian telecommunications provider based in Mumbai. It was launched on September 5th, 2016, directly with 4G services. It soon became the leading mobile telecom provider in India. By the end of 2021, despite the impact of the coronavirus on the national economy, Jio held more than one third of the wireless subscriber market. Its success was attributed to cheap prices, aggressive marketing, and fast, extensive mobile network coverage. However, due to the delay of India’s 5G spectrum auction, the rollout of Jio’s 5G services has yet to be determined.

Smartphone market in India

Thanks to increasing disposable income, cheaper mobile internet services, the Indian smartphone market has grown to one of the largest single country markets in the world. Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, sales volumes of smartphones reached an all-time high in 2021. The surge in the sales of smartphones was partially driven by relatively cheaper Chinese smartphones entering the market. Out of all the Chinese brands, Xiaomi was the most successful, while many Indian smartphone manufacturers lost their market share.