Akash Ambani's 'most affordable player' remark for Jio after Airtel revises postpaid plans

IPO-bound Jio Platforms always remain most affordable while delivering quality service, its managing director Akash Ambani said on Thursday, indicating no major change in the company's pricing stance after rival Bharti Airtel raised postpaid tariffs.

"Jio has always stood for being the most affordable player in the market and giving the highest quality of services value for money, and we'll always stand for that," Ambani told PTI on the sidelines of India Mobile Congress.

His remarks come a day after Airtel's revised postpaid plans, which entail a ₹50 monthly increase across its portfolio, came into effect on October 8.

The tariff revision covers individual and family postpaid plans, with the entry-level individual plan now costing ₹499 per month against ₹449 earlier.

The two-connection family plan has been raised to ₹749 from ₹699, while the three-connection plan now costs ₹1,049 compared with ₹999 earlier.

The four-connection plan has been increased to ₹1,249 from ₹1,199, while the four-connection plan bundled with a Netflix subscription costs ₹1,449.

Airtel is offering one free international roaming trip annually under the revamped plans.

Existing postpaid subscribers are to be moved to the nearest higher plan within a month.

The revision comes amid expectations of another round of tariff increases in the telecom sector.

Analysts have projected that operators could raise rates by 12-15% over the next four to five months.

Jio, India's largest telecom operator by subscriber base, has also reported an improvement in average revenue per user (ARPU).

Its ARPU rose 3.3% year-on-year to ₹215.6 in the second quarter of the current financial year. Airtel, meanwhile, reported a 5.6% increase in ARPU to ₹264.

Jio Platforms, the digital services and telecom holding company of Reliance Industries, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO).