Reliance Jio sees an opportunity to add close to 314 million new mobility customers as it looks to expand its subscriber base, accelerate the transition from 2G to 4G and 5G networks, and scale up artificial intelligence (AI) services ahead of its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO).
Akash Ambani, managing director of Jio Platforms and chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, outlined the company's growth opportunities, technology capabilities and financial performance, highlighting the role of connectivity and digital services in its next phase of expansion.
“Today, we see a universe of adding close to 314 million new customers on our mobility base,” Ambani said. He identified two key opportunities: around 100 million Indians getting a SIM card for the first time over the next five years as they become eligible, and 240 million subscribers currently on 2G networks migrating to 4G and 5G.
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Jio's Growth And Financial Performance
Ambani said Jio has recorded Ebitda growth of 17.8% over the past three years, with Ebitda of around Rs 76,000 crore. He attributed the growth to the scale of its network and its role in India's expanding digital economy. Jio now carries around 60% of India's digital traffic, while its customers consume an average of 47.3 GB of data per month, Ambani said. He added that the company's download speeds of around 200 Mbps were faster than those of other operators.
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Ambani said Jio entered India's telecom market in 2016 as the 14th operator, when data prices were nearly Rs 228 per GB and download speeds stood at 2.5 Mbps. The company aimed to transform India from a data-scarce nation into a data-abundant one by expanding access to affordable connectivity.
Jio Claims World's Largest 5G Base Outside China
Jio began rolling out 5G around three years ago and now has the world's largest 5G subscriber base outside China, Ambani said. He also described the migration from 4G to 5G as the fastest such transition anywhere. The company aims to connect every Indian home, citizen and enterprise with affordable digital services, drawing inspiration from the government's Digital India and Make in India initiatives and the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
AI Services Could Open New Growth Opportunities
Beyond connectivity, Jio plans to expand AI services for Indian customers, using its in-house technology capabilities to integrate digital products and improve customer experience. “We have an end-to-end technology stack,” Ambani said, adding that the company could develop applications such as call transcription and summarisation across 12 Indian languages for distribution to 53 crore Indians.
He also said Jio's collaboration with Google had helped it add around 30 million new subscribers for Gemini. The partnership reflects the company's efforts to expand access to AI tools alongside its own technology development. Ambani also highlighted Jio's in-house capabilities across the technology value chain and the potential to monetise them overseas, although he did not specify a timeline or financial targets for such expansion.
As Jio Platforms prepares for its IPO, investors will assess whether its subscriber growth, expanding 5G network and AI ambitions can translate into sustained revenue and profit growth. The company's ability to monetise its large customer base beyond connectivity will be an important factor in its longer-term growth prospects.
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Jio Platforms IPO is a book-built issue comprising an entirely fresh issue of 27 crore shares, aggregating up to Rs 30,213 crore. The company has set a price band of Rs 1,065 to Rs 1,119 per share. The IPO will open for subscription on October 21 and close on October 23, 2026. The allotment is expected to be finalised on October 26, while the shares are scheduled to list on the BSE and NSE on October 28, 2026.
The minimum application lot is 12 shares. At the upper price band of Rs 1,119, retail investors will need Rs 13,428 to apply for one lot.
Jio Platforms IPO grey market premium (GMP) stood at Rs 212 on October 15, indicating an estimated listing price of Rs 1,331 per share against the upper price band of Rs 1,119. The implied listing gain stands at 18.95%, based on the latest available grey market data. However, the grey market premium is unofficial and does not guarantee the listing performance of the IPO.
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