100 GB data for Rs 500! Broadband from Jio to stir a price war

Reliance Jio Infocomm would most probably launch its home broadband services commercially around Diwali this year, and as history goes with Jio’s debut, the offers would most likely stir up a price war in the broadband sector as well.

Called JioFiber, the broadband service would likely have 100 GB of data for Rs 500, said people in the know. As compared to this, rival companies are offering about half that data at double the price.

India currently has less than 20 million wireline broadband users, with most of them running on state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited. However, talking of wireless broadband, there are around 200 million users, even though charges are much more for fixed-line broadband.

In context of this, one can compare Bharti Airtel's average revenue per user for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. While the home broadband segment had Rs 1,064 per user revenue, mobile data business had Rs 162 per user revenue.

As per industry analysts, Jio's inaugural pricing might disrupt the home broadband market like it did with the telecom industry.

"Absolutely, it will be disruptive," Rohan Dhamija, partner and head for India and South Asia at Analysys Mason told ET. He also said that Jio’s fibre-to-the-home technology would be superior to its rivals' digital subscriber lines.

"To that regard, powered by larger capacity on the supply side as well as innovative pricing, it would look to disrupt the fixed broadband business similar to its disruption of the mobile business," Dhamija added.

The JioFiber network can carry data speed up to 100 Mbps, and is currently being rolled out in at least 10 large cities comprising of all metros and Delhi's satellite towns of Noida and Gurgaon.