🌊 Jio v/s Airtel: Underwater Edition

Jio and Airtel are continuing to battle it out for the top teleco position. But their new fight is not being fought on the land, it is under the sea.

2016 was the year when India's telecom sector changed forever.

Jio entered the market with its ultra-cheap mobile plans and wiped out some major players in the industry.

So much so, that the telecom sector has now become a duopoly: a fight between Airtel and Jio.

And now this fight is going to the high seas.

Yes, you heard it right. Both Jio and Airtel are now competing for undersea cables.

Wondering why? ReadOn!

Hidden Treasure Under the Sea?

Before we dive into Airtel and Jio's exact plans, let us decode undersea cable networks.

If we ask you where your internet comes from, you'll probably say satellites or towers. 

But you will be surprised to know that 99% of the world's internet is still powered by undersea fibre optic cables.

These cables transmit internet signals almost at the speed of light, allowing you to reply to your crush's messages almost instantaneously. 

This system also often leads to hilarious headlines like "Sharks are biting the internet."

And so comes the question, why cables? In a world going increasingly wireless, why spend millions on creating this physical infrastructure that will always be prone to various disasters?

Well, because these cables are much faster and much cheaper than wireless or satellite communication.

That's why major companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft have all laid down multiple undersea cables.

In fact, Airtel already operates an undersea cable network, which it claims to be the largest in the world.

But now comes the need for new networks to launch 5G connections. You see, the whole point of 5G is fast, effortless communication with no lags or delays. And this is possible only through the undersea cables.

Airtel and Jio's Plans

Here's what these companies plan to do.

Airtel is joining 12 other global networks to build the SEA-ME-WE-6 undersea cable consortium. It will invest 20% of the cost of building the cable network, which will extend from Singapore to France. (approximately $72 million). The cable network will go live in 2025.

This will add a capacity of 100 terabytes/sec to Airtel's global network. This is much higher than its current capacity of around 4+ terabytes/sec. 

Sounds great, right?

But wait till you hear what Jio is doing.

Jio is building not one but two undersea cable networks, the IAX (India Asia Xpress) and IEX (India Europe Xpress). These will be the first-ever international undersea cable networks that put India at the centre.

The IAX will link India to Maldives, Singapore, and Thailand, while the IEX will connect Mumbai to Milan.

This will add 200 terabytes/sec capacity to Jio's network and provide speeds of 100 gigabytes/sec! 

So, you see, these networks truly have the potential to revolutionise our telecommunications system. They could even put an end to buffering. Say goodbye to those annoying Zoom calls where you have to keep asking "Am I audible?"

Plus, this increased data connectivity will also help India create more efficient data centres, which are the need of the hour. These will help us store our data in our own country and not rely on other third-party companies.

While this is a win-win for us, the battle between Jio and Airtel just got more serious.

And this is not the only frontier where Jio is coming for Airtel. It recently announced that it will be launching its own satellite broadband system, another arena where Airtel had already made headway.

For this purpose, Jio Platforms has now partnered with Luxembourg-based SES. Their aim is to provide affordable satellite-based broadband to even the remotest parts of India where the underwater cables fail to provide internet. You see, it is covering all its bases. It doesn't want to take any risks in this cutthroat telecom war.

But this competitive spirit is rising because Jio is losing its winning edge. It has been losing customers (13 million this December) while Airtel is gaining them (475,081 in December).

Whatever the case may be, we hope this fight and this duopoly continues. Because we will all benefit from this competition, but a monopoly will cost us all. 

Let us know if you think any one company can win this telecom war!

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