Jio Public Offer May Trigger Telecom Tariff War Next Year

Jio and Airtel eliminated their cheapest pricing layer to boost their average revenue per user

- Jatin Grover

Mobile phone users may be in for another round of tariff hikes this year ahead of Jio Platforms Ltd's initial public offering of shares in the first half of 2026, telecom industry analysts predict.

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel Ltd recently eliminated their cheapest pricing layer to boost their average revenue per user (Arpu), a key telecom industry metric. At ₹250, Airtel has a higher Arpu than Jio's ₹208.8.

Increasing telecom tariffs would help Jio Platforms improve its return on capital employed—a measure of how efficiently a company uses its capital to generate profits—and attract investors for a successful IPO, analysts said.

Reliance Jio is a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, the digital services and telecom arm of Reliance Industries Ltd. A tariff hike by Jio would leave room for Airtel to increase its prices as well.