01
Jio: scale first
More subscribers, rising 5G adoption (285 million) and growth in home broadband. The release says Jio holds over 43% share of fixed broadband.
The analysis notebook · Day 09
Jio vs Airtel.
Two ways to win.
Both sell mobile data and calls. One built its position on volume and low entry pricing. The other has leaned on premium customers. Their latest results show both in action.
The simple answer: Jio competes on scale and customer count. Airtel competes on revenue per customer. ARPU is the number that shows the difference.
01 / How Jio entered
Penetration pricing in action.
When Reliance Jio launched on 1 September 2016, it offered the Jio Welcome Offer: unlimited LTE data and national voice, video and messaging services free until 31 December 2016. It said average data prices would be around ₹50 per GB. It also introduced the LYF 4G phones starting at ₹2,999.
Source: Reliance Industries media release, 1 September 2016. This is a good example of penetration pricing: low price to win customers fast.
02 / The latest results
Q1 FY27: June 2026 quarter.
| Measure | Jio Platforms | Bharti Airtel |
|---|---|---|
| Customers | 533 million+ subscribers; 285 million on 5G | 681 million customers across 15 countries (includes Africa) |
| ARPU (per month) | ₹215.6 | ₹264 (India mobile) |
| Revenue | ₹39,173 cr from operations (+11.8% YoY) | India revenue ₹41,214 cr (+9.7% YoY) |
| EBITDA margin | 53.3% (on revenue from operations) | 60.1% (India) |
| Other highlights | Churn 1.6% a month; 8.9 million net additions; fixed broadband 28.6 million | Postpaid base 30.0 million; smartphone data users 80% of mobile customers |
Careful: the two columns are not like-for-like. Jio Platforms includes digital services beyond mobile. Airtel's 681 million customers include Africa; its India figures are shown separately where available. ARPU is average revenue per user per month, and ARPU of ₹264 vs ₹215.6 means Airtel earns about 22% more per mobile user (my calculation).
03 / What the strategies look like
Volume vs value.
02
Airtel: premium mix
Airtel says growth comes from "portfolio premiumisation", record postpaid additions (1.0 million in the quarter) and customers moving to smartphone data.
03
Customer acquisition
Both spend to win and keep customers. Jio's monthly churn was 1.6%, so most subscribers stay. Lower churn means the cost of winning a customer is spread over more months.
04
Pricing room
When ARPU rises, the business earns more from the same customer base. Airtel reported ARPU of ₹264 against ₹250 a year earlier.
04 / What I learned
Customers and revenue per customer both matter.
My biggest lesson: a company with more customers can still earn less per customer, and the reverse is also true. I should look at customers, ARPU and margin together.
Next I want to see how a tariff change shows up in ARPU over several quarters, not just one.
A commerce student's learning notebook. Not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any share.
Source notes
The receipts behind the numbers.
- Reliance Industries: Q1 FY27 media release · Jio Platforms subscribers, ARPU, revenue, EBITDA margin, churn, broadband.
- Bharti Airtel: Q1 FY27 press release · Customers, ARPU, India revenue and EBITDA margin, postpaid. Published 4 August 2026.
- Reliance Industries: Launch of digital services by Jio, 1 September 2016 · Jio Welcome Offer, data price and LYF phones.