Jio's Akash Ambani says services, not tariff hikes, to drive revenue as record IPO nears

Akash Ambani, Jio Platforms' Managing Director, told reporters on Thursday that revenue growth for the telecom giant would stem primarily from selling more services rather than raising prices. However, he clarified that the company still retains the option of increasing tariffs if needed. Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, Ambani emphasized that Jio aims to provide customers with more services and charge for them instead of relying heavily on charging per gigabyte.

He also mentioned that the share of telecom spending in India's per-capita income has roughly halved to about 1% since Jio's launch in 2016, which he considered as headroom. When asked about an imminent tariff increase, Ambani did not provide a timeline. Instead, he highlighted that Jio charges around Rs 4.9 per gigabyte, which is significantly less than the industry average of Rs 7.5, with customers utilizing 43.7 GB per month on average.

Jio plans to capitalize on a projected USD 1.4-trillion digital economy by FY31, aiming to secure a significant market share in areas such as mobile, home broadband, enterprise services, and international services. Ambani claimed that Jio handles over 60% of India's wireless data traffic. He further stated that Jio could generate higher EBITDA margins by introducing additional services like voice-AI features, with the margin currently at 53.3% in the first quarter of FY27.