Jio Tariff Hike: Akash Ambani Says Company Has Pricing Power, But Prefers Digital Services To Drive Growth

Mumbai, October 16: Reliance Jio has the flexibility to raise mobile tariffs but intends to prioritise revenue growth through more services, managing director Akash Ambani said ahead of the telecom operator’s landmark initial public offering (IPO). The company is looking to monetise its extensive subscriber base by offering additional services rather than relying primarily on higher mobile data prices. 

Speaking at a media interaction on Thursday, Ambani said tariff increases remained an option but were not the company’s preferred growth strategy. His comments come amid expectations of further price hikes across India’s telecom industry as operators seek to improve average revenue per user (ARPU) and profitability. 

“We always have the ability to take prices up, but what we want to do is to really deliver more services to our customers so that they’re very happy, rather than just pricing per GB as a lever that we want to control,” Ambani said. 

Jio Tariff Hike: Akash Ambani Says Pricing Is Only One Growth Lever 

Ambani said Jio would focus on delivering greater value to customers and generating additional revenue from services beyond mobile connectivity. The company’s strategy includes expanding home broadband, enterprise offerings and digital services, while using its existing network infrastructure to introduce new products. 

Jio has built a subscriber base of more than 530 million users since its commercial launch in 2016, establishing itself as India’s largest telecom operator by subscribers. Its competitive pricing has played a significant role in expanding mobile internet adoption across the country. 

However, with subscriber additions becoming harder to sustain as the market matures, telecom operators are increasingly looking at tariff revisions and higher spending by existing customers to drive earnings growth. 

Jio’s average revenue per user stood at around Rs 216, below Bharti Airtel’s Rs 264, indicating scope for improvement through premium plans, additional services and higher tariffs. Ambani, however, emphasised that the company had multiple avenues to increase customer spending without depending exclusively on price increases. 

“Tariff is just one of the levers,” he said. 

Jio Targets Higher Margins Through Digital Services 

Jio is also looking to improve profitability by introducing additional services and increasing operating efficiencies. Ambani said the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin had increased from around 50% to 53% over the past three years, with scope for further improvement. 

The company expects growth across its mobility, home broadband, enterprise and digital businesses to support revenue expansion. Its existing network and technology investments could help it offer more services to current subscribers without a corresponding increase in infrastructure costs. 

Jio is also exploring opportunities beyond conventional licensed telecom services, which Ambani said could contribute to higher margins. The approach would allow the company to extract greater value from its existing customer relationships while maintaining its focus on affordable connectivity. 

The strategy is particularly significant ahead of the IPO, as investors assess whether Jio can translate its subscriber scale and dominant position in India’s data market into sustained earnings growth. 

Jio Plans To Expand Broadband Reach To 100 Million Homes 

Home broadband is another major pillar of Jio’s growth strategy. Ambani said the company’s addressable market for home connectivity had expanded from 40 million households to 100 million through its proprietary unlicensed-band radio (UBR) technology. 

The technology enables wireless home broadband connections without requiring conventional fibre infrastructure to reach every household, potentially accelerating customer additions and reducing deployment constraints. 

Ambani said Jio had completed the rollout of the relevant network equipment and could provide home broadband connectivity within 48 hours of receiving a customer request. 

The company also intends to take its technology stack to international markets through partnerships with overseas telecom operators. Rather than directly entering foreign markets as a mobile operator, Jio would look to supply technology and managed services to local partners. 

Jio Platforms IPO: Rs 30,213 Crore Issue To Open On October 21 

Jio Platforms is preparing to launch a Rs 30,213 crore IPO, which is set to become India’s largest-ever public share offering. The company has fixed a price band of Rs 1,065 to Rs 1,119 per share, with the issue scheduled to open on October 21 and close on October 23. Anchor investor bidding is scheduled for October 19, while the shares are expected to list on October 28. 

The IPO values Jio Platforms at up to $108.3 billion and could make it India’s fourth-largest listed company by market capitalisation, behind Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank. 

Backed by global investors including Meta and Google, Jio operates across telecommunications, broadband, enterprise services, cloud computing, digital applications and data centres. Its ability to monetise its extensive customer base through higher-value services will remain a key factor for investors evaluating its long-term growth prospects. 

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