, Columnists
Ambani's a Realist, Not a Rebel
They'd expected Jio to attack their growing data business. Instead, the assault came in voice -- their mainstay.
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Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani isn't a rebel. He's a realist.
"The era of paying for voice calls is ending," Ambani told investors at the company's annual general meeting Thursday, while inaugurating his telco startup Jio. To his entrenched Indian rivals, all of whom are still wedded to the idea of charging customers for phone calls, Ambani's words should be bone-chilling. Elsewhere, they're an accurate reflection of the global state of play.