Jio eyes $230 billion global opportunity with 5G, feature phone tech
Jio Platforms Ltd aims to expand its homegrown telecom technology beyond India, targeting a $230 billion global market opportunity through 5G networks, fixed wireless access (FWA) and feature phone OS, according to its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).
The company plans to work with international telecom operators through partnerships, technology licensing and managed services arrangements, while remaining open to strategic greenfield deployments where needed.
The largest is a $145 billion market for fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband, followed by a $70 billion opportunity linked to the global rollout of 5G networks, where Jio can bring its own 5G stack.
Jio Platforms has also identified a $15 billion opportunity from the potential migration where users remaining on 2G services could make the operating system available.
“As of December 2025, ninety-five countries totaling about 664 million households continue to report fixed broadband penetration levels below 50%, with only about 132 million households connected to the internet,” Jio said in its DRHP.
He added that there is also a managed services framework. The FWA stack can enable Jio to make a low-friction entry into international markets by providing global digital connectivity providers with full-stack FWA connectivity solutions spanning hardware and software.
Apart from its 5G FWA service, Jio is also hopeful about an export opportunity for unlicensed band radio (UBR)-based FWA, which will help operators expand broadband coverage faster and at lower cost.
About the global 5G opportunity, Jio said operators that are yet to commercially launch 5G serve around 2.3 billion consumers. The company plans to market its end-to-end 5G technology stack, including network software and operational systems, to telecom operators looking to upgrade their networks.
As of March 2026, the company has 268.5 million 5G subscribers, making it the largest 5G operator outside China by customer base. The JioAirFiber service had 12.9 million users, making it one of the world’s largest fixed wireless access deployments outside China.
Touch switch from 2G to 4G
Regarding the worldwide shift from 2G to 4G/5G, Jio said that by December 2025, 729 million customers continue to use 2G phones despite having almost universal access to 4G (and even 5G in major countries).
The company currently offers JioBharat 4G feature phones in India, running its own JioBharat operating system. The same was launched by Jio to switch 2G users in the country to 4G at a lower cost.
“The addressable market for Jio will be a portion of this revenue due to the rollout of the operating system and platform that will enable this transition, while the hardware revenue will be retained by the hardware OEM,” he said.
Beyond one-time device revenue as an operating system provider, additional monetization avenues for Jio will include licensing device reference designs, monetizing established media and digital services platforms, and participating in other ongoing revenue streams with digital connectivity providers, the company added.
“It’s a prudent move by Jio to monetise feature phone technology through licensing, without directly participating. There are many countries where there is a huge deficit, and at affordable prices, JioBharat OS can help in the transition from 2G,” said Faisal Kawoosa, principal analyst at technology analytics, research and advisory firm Techarc.
However, according to Kawoosa, the company is expected to face strong global competition from market incumbents such as Huawei, Nokia and Ericsson for 5G infrastructure.
