Srinagar, Aug 28: From having no reported mobile subscriber base in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2016 to serving 58.5 lakh users a decade later, Reliance Jio has emerged as the largest net mobile subscriber gainer in the J&K-Ladakh telecom circle.
Since its commercial launch on September 5, 2016, Jio has significantly reshaped the telecom market in J&K, driving subscriber growth and intensifying competition in the sector.
According to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Jio had no reported mobile subscriber base in the circle in August 2016. Within its first month of operations, in September 2016, it had 0.8 lakh users. By June 2026, its subscriber base had risen to 58.5 lakh, representing a net addition of 57.7 lakh users and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 54.8 per cent.
As of June 2026, Jio accounted for 41.7 per cent of the circle’s 140.1 lakh wireless connections.
The expansion has taken place alongside overall growth in the region’s telecom market, rather than being driven solely by the contraction of competitors’ subscriber bases. The total wireless subscriber base in the circle grew 46.3 per cent over the decade.
Jio has also expanded its presence in the home broadband segment. The company says it has connected more than 5.6 lakh homes and business premises across J&K and Ladakh through its JioFiber and JioAirFiber services. It claims to be the market leader in the home broadband segment in the region.
At the national level, Jio had around 53.33 crore customers as of June 2026, including approximately 28.5 crore 5G users.
Jio’s entry into the market also triggered a sharp shift in telecom pricing and data consumption patterns. Before its launch, high call and data charges were major concerns for consumers. The company’s initial strategy of affordable data and free voice calls intensified competition and accelerated the adoption of mobile internet.
In 2016, average monthly mobile data consumption in India was below 0.2 GB per subscriber, while a gigabyte of data cost around Rs 228. Fewer than 10 million Indians had access to 4G networks, with average download speeds of around 2.5 Mbps.
A decade later, the cost of a gigabyte of mobile data has fallen to roughly Rs 7.9, a decline of about 97 per cent, while active 4G and 5G subscribers across the country have risen to around 93.8 crore. On Jio’s network, the company says, an average subscriber now consumes 42.3 GB of data per month.
The transformation has extended beyond pricing and connectivity, with telecom operators increasingly investing in network infrastructure, cloud technologies and 5G capabilities.
Earlier generations of telecom networks relied heavily on imported proprietary hardware and software, leaving operators dependent on overseas vendors for equipment, technology upgrades and network roadmaps.
Jio, meanwhile, has invested in developing an end-to-end, cloud-native standalone 5G network, which the company says is designed to meet the requirements of the Indian market and operating environment.
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