Jio Prime sign-ups hits 50m mark, says official

Aggressive newcomer to India’s mobile sector Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) has reportedly signed up 50 million subscribers to its ‘Jio Prime’ service, the Economic Times cites an unnamed company official as saying. Jio has offered customers unlimited free voice and data services since its launch in September 2016, allowing it to sign up a record 100 million users by February 2017. A question mark hung over the cellco’s future, however, with many commentators casting doubt on its ability to convert those user base into paying customers when it finally begins charging for services. As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, Jio announced its Jio Prime offer late last month to help smooth that transition: the service costs INR99 up front, plus INR303 per month, but allows subscriber to continue receiving unlimited voice and data services until the end of March 2018. Subscribers have until 31 March 2017 to sign up for Jio Prime.