Support Telecomtalk
Highlights
- Reliance Jio, is the largest telecom operator in India, and this gives the telco a power no one else enjoys in the market.
- It is the power to control the pricing environment.
- If you pay close attention to what Airtel has said multiple times over the last years, it is that it can't move alone or before the competition with prices.
Andrew Bonwick
Vice President of Product Development at Relm Insurance
Madhav Sheth
CEO of Ai+ Smartphone
Varun Kashyap & Sridevi Reddy
Co-Founders, Zithara.ai
Transforming Indian Offline Retail and Customer Engagement Using AI
Reliance Jio, is the largest telecom operator in India, and this gives the telco a power no one else enjoys in the market. It is the power to control the pricing environment. If you pay close attention to what Airtel has said multiple times over the last years, it is that it can’t move alone or before the competition with prices. Even in 2024, when the last tariff hikes came, it was Jio who went ahead with new pricing first. Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) wanted to do it, but couldn’t risk moving first. As for Jio, there’s no pressure any time to move first. The telco’s average revenue per user (ARPU) has seen decent growth over two years, and with another round of hikes, will likely reach Rs 250-260 in the short-to-medium term.
- Make Telecom Talk My Trusted Source
Key Highlights
- Reliance Jio remains India's largest telecom operator with significant influence over industry pricing.
- Jio is often the first operator to implement tariff hikes, with rivals typically following its lead.
- Another round of tariff hikes could help Jio's ARPU rise to the Rs 250-260 range in the near term.
- Jio's scale and profitability allow it to grow revenues and margins even with lower ARPU than competitors.
- The company has crossed 500 million subscribers and remains the clear market leader.
The scale and EBITDA at which Jio operates its business, this ARPU is enough to help the telco in boosting topline revenues and improving margins dramatically. If Jio does not move up with prices, Airtel and Vi can’t either. It is basic math. Jio is present in most areas of India, meaning if there’s any time people feel that they don’t want to be with Airtel or Vi, they can simply switch their operator (to Jio). Jio is slightly more affordable as well when it comes to pricing with Airtel and Vi.
