Reliance Jio is reportedly still a second choice operator for most of its large user base, a recent survey by market research firm Velocity has reported. The survey was conducted across 2,000 respondents in major cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi and more, and suggested that while the company has indeed been the fastest in the world of technology to add 100 million users and still continues to grow, it may have one significant roadblock that would be difficult to overcome.
The survey noted that 82 percent of Jio's users continue to use Jio SIMs in the secondary slot, as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea are still holding on as primary service providers. This can soon become a cause of concern that would pose a potential roadblock in Jio's path of meteoric expansion. The operator burst on to the scene with free, unlimited 4G services when it introduced itself in September 2016. Despite opposition from rival players, Jio continued to provide free services and introduced charged subscription packs only in April 2017, and even then it provided a highly discounted rate to retain its amassed users. Jio's introduction in the country has been generally said to have increased the awareness of 4G and internet connectivity, along with widespread adoption and availability of more affordable 4G-enabled smartphones in the country.
However, the call drop rate of VoLTE-based calling via Jio is said to be a significant reason why users have refrained from using it as primary service. Jio has ranked lowest among the Indian telecom operators in terms of call quality, while Vodafone has ranked the highest in terms of in-call audio quality. One more reason for Jio not being able to breach into the primary usage space is possibly because of the lack of number portability. Coupled with relatively restricted coverage area, inferior call quality and the inability to port numbers, users have been understandably reluctant to shift permanently to Jio's services, and still use it for data benefits.