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Jio Hints at Price Hike: Will You Pay More for Data?
27 Oct
Summary
- Jio's ARPU growth has slowed significantly since July 2024 tariff increases.
- A new Jio Prime membership offers protection from future, unannounced price hikes.
- Brokerages predict a 12-15% tariff increase for Jio within months.
Jio has not announced an increase in mobile tariffs since July 2024, but signals suggest a change is coming. The company's own Jio Prime membership, relaunched in August, offers customers a price guarantee until September 5, 2027, for a one-time fee of Rs 300. This effectively charges users to protect them from future, unannounced price hikes, indicating that Jio anticipates such increases.
Jio's ARPU growth has slowed, reaching Rs 215.6 in June 2026, a mere 3.3% increase year-over-year. This contrasts with its rival Bharti Airtel, which reported an ARPU of Rs 264 in the same quarter. Furthermore, monthly data usage per Jio customer has surged by 52% to 43.7 GB, while ARPU increased by only 19% between March 2024 and June 2026, leading to lower per-gigabyte costs for consumers.
Several brokerages have linked Jio's public listing to a potential tariff increase. JM Financial Institutional Securities previously estimated a 15% hike would be necessary for industry-wide ARPU to reach Rs 270-Rs 300 by FY28, ensuring reasonable returns on 5G investments. Centrum, in a recent report, expects tariffs to rise by 12% over the next three to four months, citing limited competition in the market. While Jio has not confirmed any price changes, these indicators suggest an upcoming revision.
