Mumbai: Jio Platforms plans to raise revenue per customer mainly by selling more services rather than lifting tariffs, though it keeps the option of higher prices, Managing Director Akash Ambani said on Thursday, days before the Reliance Industries unit opens what would be India’s largest initial public offering.
“We always can take up prices,” Ambani told a press conference in Mumbai, but the company would rather give customers more services and charge for them than rely on price per gigabyte as its main lever.
Asked whether a tariff increase was coming, he gave no timeline. He said telecom spending per user as a share of India’s per-capita income had roughly halved to about 1 per cent since Jio’s 2016 launch, which he called headroom.
Akash also indicated that telecom tariffs could rise further, suggesting that there is still room for price increases in the market.
“There’s certainly surplus on the table,” he said, referring to the scope for further tariff hikes.
For telecom companies, higher tariffs can help improve revenue from existing customers. However, Jio’s strategy suggests that it also wants to increase the value of each customer by offering more than basic connectivity.
This could include services linked to mobile connectivity, home broadband, enterprise solutions, and digital applications. The aim is to make customers pay for a wider range of services rather than focus only on how much data they consume.
Akash said Jio entered the telecom market in 2016 with a clear opportunity: to make data more affordable and move India towards a data-rich economy.
At the time, mobile data was expensive, download speeds were limited and the number of data users was relatively small. Jio saw this gap as an opportunity to expand internet access across the country.
The company’s entry helped push the industry towards lower data prices and greater consumption. Akash said Jio now offers data at a much lower price than when it entered the market, helping change how Indians use mobile internet.
He also highlighted the performance of Jio’s network, saying the company was focused on delivering high-quality services alongside affordable pricing.
Beyond telecom connectivity, Jio is building an end-to-end technology platform spanning mobile networks, home broadband, devices, operating systems and digital applications.
Akash said this technology base allows the company to expand across several business areas, including mobility, home services, enterprise solutions and partnerships with other digital platforms.
He also pointed to Jio’s technology development and patent portfolio as important strengths. According to him, the company has developed and deployed its own technology at scale, giving it greater control over its network and services.
Jio’s partnerships with technology companies could also help it reach more customers and introduce new digital services. Akash said these arrangements were not simply distribution deals but could help create new markets by combining technology with Jio’s understanding of Indian consumers.
5G, 6G AND THE NEXT PHASE OF GROWTH
Jio is also looking beyond its current network, with Akash saying that 6G is on the company’s horizon. He indicated that Jio wants to develop the technology in a way that allows it to be introduced through software upgrades rather than requiring an entirely new network.
“On 6G, we’re in the pre-standard phase. We are contributing to that. We think that the standards will probably set in the 2029. The rollout of commercial 6G technologies will be in the early 2030s,” he said.
The company is also looking to expand its presence in home broadband and enterprise services, while finding new ways to generate revenue from its technology platform.
Akash said Jio’s long-term growth would depend on understanding customers better, meeting their needs and continuing to invest in technology.
For Jio, the strategy is to combine affordable connectivity with a wider range of services. The company believes this approach can support further growth while allowing it to move beyond a business model centred largely on data prices.
