According to a report from JM Financials concerning the telecom industry, both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, prominent players in the Indian telecom sector, are projected to collectively invest approximately ₹75,000 crore in the current fiscal year to fortify their network infrastructure.
The report indicates that Reliance Jio is likely to allocate around ₹42,000 crore, while Bharti Airtel is expected to invest approximately ₹33,000 crore during FY24. However, these investments are anticipated to decrease once they attain their 5G network rollout objectives, in line with their announcements.
The report, as quoted by PTI, mentions that “Bharti’s management capex guidance implies India business capex could decline to approximately ₹200 billion (₹20,000 crore) from FY25 (versus ₹280 billion, or ₹28,000 crore in FY23) though we continue to conservatively build in approximately ₹270 billion (₹27,000 crore) for FY25 and ₹330 billion (₹33,000 crore) for FY24.”
As per the report, Reliance Jio’s capital expenditures are estimated to reach around ₹42,163 crore in FY24, with a projected decrease to about ₹30,000 crore in FY25. Reliance Jio has announced ambitious plans for a nationwide 5G rollout by December 2023, while Bharti Airtel aims to achieve a similar milestone by March 2024, the report notes.
In the previous month, Jio introduced Jio AirFiber, a service designed for both residential and commercial use. Jio AirFiber delivers impressive speeds of up to 1.5 Gbps, making it well-suited for activities like high-definition video streaming, online gaming, and seamless video conferencing. This innovative service is poised to tap into a substantial untapped market, with more than 200 million Indian households in its sights. Jio AirFiber is expected to be competitively priced, with an estimated cost of around ₹6,000, possibly slightly higher due to the inclusion of a portable device unit.
