Reliance Jio is ushering in “data-giri” to cash in on the booming demand for data services boom in the country.
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Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani today announced free voice calling, zero roaming charges and cheaper data tariffs for Jio customers.
The news sent the share prices of Indian operators tumbling, according to various local news outlets.
“RJio has disrupted industry pricing more than we imagined, with consequences for incumbents likely more hard than we expected”, said George, who trimmed his price target on Bharti Airtel to Rs 290 from Rs 335, and that on Idea Cellular to Rs 85 from Rs 100. While director of the Reliance corporation Mukesh Ambani has exposed huge internet allows to the Jio 4G sim users.
Announced on Wednesday and officially launching from Monday, September 5, Reliance Jio is finally emerging from its preview and opening up to all users.
Stating that the data must be “affordable”, he said Jio’s base rate will be one-tenth of the prevailing data rates. It would eventually cover 18000 cities, 2 lakh villages and aims for 100 million customers. “Jio will never charge for voice”, said Ambani.
“Incumbent operators will need to match these tariff plans, which basically means there will be reduction in average revenue per user (ARPU) and hence impact on EBITDA”, said Romal Shetty, partner at KPMG.
As Reliance Jio reaches the commercial launch of its disruptive 4G Jio services on December 31 this year, it will have more than 125 million potential 4G subscribers available by that time, market research firm CyberMedia Research (CMR) predicted on Thursday. After December, customers will get all domestic voice calls, including roaming for free, while data will be charged.
Reliance has already begin exploratory talks with the country’s two biggest startups – online retailer Flipkart and ride hailing app Ola – for potential integration of their services with Reliance’s mobile service Jio, four people aware of the development told ET.
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Shares in India’s No. 1 wireless carrier Bharti Airtel Ltd (BRTI.NS) dropped 6.3 percent while smaller rival Idea Cellular (IDEA.NS) fell 10.5 percent, on fears that Jio’s aggressive rates will trigger a price war. It will cost you only Rs 1,999.
