Jio shifts gears as 5G, homes and AI deals drive quarter momentum

MUMBAI: If numbers could talk, they would probably say this, scale only matters when it moves fast. That was the clear subtext of the update shared by Anshuman Thakur, head of strategy at Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, during the earnings call following the company’s unaudited results for the quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2025.

Speaking on the transcripted call, Thakur traced Jio’s performance back to a long-standing strategy rooted in building proprietary, India-first technologies that work at global scale. That approach, he noted, is now fully embedded across Jio’s 4G and 5G core networks, fixed wireless access solutions and connected home platforms, all developed in-house to suit Indian price points and usage patterns.

Jio closed the quarter with over 515 million subscribers, adding 8.9 million net users, while its 5G base crossed 253 million. The shift to next-generation networks gathered pace, with 53 per cent of total data traffic now on 5G, easing pressure on 4G and improving overall service quality. Total data consumption crossed 60 billion GB, with per capita usage jumping from 32.3 GB to 40.7 GB, underlining how faster networks are reshaping consumer behaviour.

The company’s home broadband push also gathered momentum. Jio added more than one million homes every month for seven consecutive months, taking total fixed broadband connections past 25 million, including 11.5 million JioAirFiber homes. Wireless last-mile connections now dominate new additions, helping Jio gain over 800 basis points of market share in home broadband over the past year, with 70 per cent of incremental industry additions coming through its network.

Financially, the momentum translated into solid gains. Operating revenues for the quarter crossed Rs.37,000 crore, while EBITDA rose 16.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs.18,408 crore, delivering a margin of 56.2 per cent at the operating level. Consolidated revenues for Jio Platforms stood at Rs.37,262 crore, up 12.7 per cent, with profit after tax at Rs.7,629 crore. ARPU improved organically to Rs.213.7, driven by customer mix and value-added services rather than tariff hikes.

Beyond connectivity, partnerships and platforms added a fresh layer to the story. Offerings such as JioHotstar and the rollout of Google Gemini Pro to unlimited 5G users have boosted engagement while deepening Jio’s understanding of consumer behaviour. With proprietary networks, expanding enterprise services and a growing digital ecosystem, Jio appears to be turning technological self-reliance into a sustained competitive edge, one quarter at a time.