Exclusive pre launch sneak peek of Jio’s tentative tariff plans

Jio's 4G commercial launch may still be a few months away, but what everyone is eagerly waiting for is what tariff Jio will offer. There were even rumours that Jio may offer data tariff as low as Rs 20/GB or at least Rs 50/GB. We have looked into the sample tariff structure available in My Jio App which currently only lists the special tariff pack details without mentioning the price denominations which will only be disclosed at the time of full commercial launch. Below is a sneak peek into the tentative Jio tariff plans pre launch.

Jio base tariff

Jio voice calling base tariff is 2p/sec which translates to Rs 1.20/min and charges Rs 1/msg for SMS. This is almost the same as tariff offered by incumbent operators. Jio also offers video calling on 4G for 5p/sec which is equivalent to what incumbent operators used to charge for video call back in 3G days.

If you are thinking why roaming rates are lower than normal home tariff, this because of a TRAI ceiling on roaming tariff. The only magic from Jio is for base tariff of data, which is charged at just 0.5p/10kb or 51p/MB.

This is much lower compared to existing data rate of 4p/10KB offered by many operators in India. Since 4G is all about data Jio wants to keep its data rate at the lowest.

Full & Extra Talktime on Top Ups

The Top Up page shows Jio is offering full talktime for all recharges starting Rs 10. For recharges above Rs 500, Jio is giving 10% to 15% extra talktime. Here, Jio is absorbing the 15% service tax and processing fee usually charged by every operator on topups. If the above topup plans find their way to commercial launch, Jio customers will have something to rejoice as they don't have to worry about talktime value on each top up.

Jio Combo Packs

Jio combo packs would be the main marketing pitch for Jio. The voice combo packs combine Voice minutes, Day usage LTE data, Night usage LTE data, Wi-fi data usage on Jio hotspots, bundled free SMS and subscription to Jio suite of apps into a single pack. Voice combo packs come in different sizes and with different validity, currently Jio has listed 7 voice combo packs, the details of these packs is mentioned in the table below.

Jio also has pure Data combo packs combining Day usage LTE data, night usage LTE data and WiFi data on Jio hotspots. This pack suggests that Jio has big plans for WiFi hotspot deployment across the country. Jio is offering WiFi data at the same rate of night LTE data through these combo packs. It seems like Jio has designed these packs for using with data only devices like tablets. The data combo plans come in varying sizes and validities and Jio has currently listed 7 data combo plans. The details of the data combo plans is given in the table below.

Voice call packs

For users who do not wish to subscribe to full fledged combo packs, Jio has listed individual packs in each category which basically act as rate cutters lowering the base tariffs with each recharge. In the voice category Jio has listed 3 rate cutter STV's as small, medium and large all with 30 days validity and giving discounted calling tariffs for local, STD and roaming usage. The details of the packs is mentioned in the table below.

Video calling packs

Jio has also listed video calling rate cutter STV's. These again come in 3 sizes of small, medium and large, providing discounted video calling for local, STD and roaming usage. The details of these packs is given in the table below.

SMS packs

Jio has listed SMS rate cutter STV's for sending local and national SMS at discounted rates. These also come in 3 variants of small, medium and large. The details of the packs is mentioned in the table below.

Data packs

Jio has listed standalone data packs for subscribers who do not wish to subscribe to the data combo packs and may have a requirement for data only during the day or only during the night. The night usage data packs come in 3 variants of small, medium and large, besides these there is also a rollover data pack and an on net data pack. The details of the LTE data packs is mentioned in the table below.

Wi-Fi packs

Jio has listed standalone wi-fi data usage packs for subscribers who wish to use data only through its wide coverage of Jio hotspots at discounted rates. These can come in handy for people who live in close vicinity of Jio public wi-fi hotspots or visit such places frequently. It is also useful for topping up the wi-fi data usage once the amount bundled in your combo pack is exhausted. The details of the wifi top up packs is given in the table below.

App packs

Jio has listed dedicated recharge packs for unlimited access for 30 days for its Jio suite of apps. There are 11 variants listed which include Jio VOD pack, Jio play pack, Jio drive pack, Jio beats pack, Jio news pack, Jio mags pack, Jio security blue, Gold and Platinum and a  Jio apps bundle which gives unlimited access to all of Jio's apps for 30 days.

TT perspective

While these tentative tariff structures may not be implemented as they are, this throws some light over what Jio is likely to offer. Jio is giving lavish night LTE data and WiFi data which may be targeted towards heavy downloaders who want cheaper data tariff. While the regular LTE data plans are not much different what many operators already offer, Jio may able to price it up to 50% lower than the current market rates. For Voice and SMS, Jio may not offer any predatory pricing and should be equivalent or slightly lower than current prevailing tariff.

Do these plans match up to the expectations that you have from Jio? Or do you feel it will all boil down to how the packs are priced at launch? do let us know your views through your comments below.

Research/Inputs by Tharun Goerge and Esmail.

Note: These tariffs plans are subject to change by the time of official launch.