Reliance Jio plans may be 20% cheaper than Airtel, Vodafone Idea

Amid the ongoing tariff war among India's leading telcos, Reliance Jio's plans could be by cheaper by 15-20 per cent, according to an analyst firm.

Jio had recently announced that it would  raise its tariff by up to 40 per cent through its all in one (AOI) plans from December 6. Moreover, the Mukesh Ambani firm also said that it would provide its subscribers with unlimited voice and data, which will have '300 per cent more benefits' than earlier.

"Even after these hikes, we believe Jio will continue to be 15-20 per cent cheaper than the incumbent operators. If Jio data allowances are not within "fair usage policy" control, then we see upside risks to our capex investments," Bank of America Merril Lynch said in a note.

Reliance Jio, which is deemed as India's fastest-growing 4G network, posted a net profit of Rs 990 crore for the September quarter. Currently, the company's  total subscriber base stands at 355.2 million, covering 99 per cent of India's population.

Airtel and Vodafone Idea on Monday announced their new tariff plans. For an Airtel subscriber, the old Rs 35 plan has been changed to Rs 49 plan with a price hike of 50 paise per day in this plan. The plan comes with talktime worth Rs 38.52 and 100 MB of data with 28 days of validity period.

Airtel has dropped the Rs 169 and Rs 199 plans and introduced a single Rs 248 plan. It offers unlimited calling, 100 SMS per day and 1.5GB data per day for 28 days. The users will also get access to Airtel Xstream, Wynk music, Hello Tunes and Anti-virus mobile protection for 28 days.

Airtel's costiest plan is of Rs 2,398. This is a revised version of the Rs 1,699 plan that offered the same benefits but a lower price. Ths plan offers unlimited calling, 100 SMS per day, and 1.5 GB per day under this plan.

For Vodafone-Idea, the popular 1.5 GB/day, 84 day pack will cost 31 per cent more at Rs 599 versus Rs 458 (33 per cent hike for Bharti). The old Rs 199 plan has been revised to Rs 249. The plan offers Rs 1.5 GB data per day. A 41 per cent increase comes on the annual plan of Rs 1,699 which will now cost now Rs 2,399.

(With agencies input)

Also read: More tariff hikes on cards even as Voda Idea, Airtel, Jio users brace for bigger phone bills

Also read: Airtel vs Vodafone Idea vs Reliance Jio tariff hike: Check out new cheapest, costliest plans