Reliance Jio IPO: Reliance Jio, which has completely changed the face of the Indian telecom industry, is now coming to create a stir in the stock market. Whenever cheap internet is talked about, the first name that comes up is Jio. This Mukesh Ambani company has transformed mobile data from an expensive service to a common man’s daily need. On completing 10 years of this amazing journey, the company is bringing its much awaited IPO.

Reliance Jio has submitted its documents to the stock market regulator. Jio’s much talked about IPO will open on October 21. Investors can try their luck till October 23. This is going to be the largest public offering in the history of India. In which 27 crore new shares will be issued. For existing shareholders of Reliance Industries Rs. 2,500 crore shares have been reserved. A special quota of Rs 500 crore has also been fixed for company employees. Reliance Jio Rs. 10.3 lakh crore is eyeing a valuation. The price band of this IPO has been kept between Rs 1,065 to Rs 1,119. Through this the company has collected from the market about Rs. 30,200 crores are making big preparations to collect.

A journey from free data to the biggest IPO

Jio entered the market commercially on September 5, 2016. Jio initially provided its customers with free national roaming facility along with free voice calling. Data prices were also kept very low as compared to the market. Free entertainment apps were also provided along with the connectivity. This aggressive strategy of Jio has created panic in the market. There was a huge pressure on the revenue of the old telecom companies.

After giving everything free for six months, Jio started charging for data from April 2017. However, voice calls are still free. By its first anniversary, Jio had added 13 crore customers. The market share increased to more than 10 percent. Jio also launched ‘Jio Phone’ to bring internet to every home. Its aim was to engage consumers who were looking for cheaper options.

The entire math of the telecom sector changed

By 2018, two years after Jio’s entry, its wider impact was clearly visible. Before the advent of Jio, 20 crore GB of mobile data was used every month in the country. After the advent of Jio, this usage increased to 370 crore GB. The cost of data has also come down from Rs 250 per GB to below Rs 15. As of the end of June 2018, Jio had 215 million users. Instead of eight-nine companies, now only three big companies remained in the market. It includes Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea along with Jio.

In 2019, the company changed its strategy. Jio started charging Interconnect Usage Charge (IUC) for calls to other networks. After years of aggressive pricing wars, the company moved to profit from its subscriber base.

Building a digital powerhouse based on foreign investment

In the year 2020, Reliance Industries opened its digital business doors to foreign investors. Facebook has bought 9.99 percent stake in the Jio platform by investing Rs 43,574 crore. After this Google also made a huge investment of Rs 33,737 crore. With these large investments, Reliance’s balance sheet became stronger. As of July 2020, Jio became India’s first telecom company with 40 crore subscribers.

In 2021, Jio significantly expanded its digital services. The company has expanded JioMart along with WhatsApp. Started working with Google to make cheap smartphones. In addition, it also focused on local equipment manufacturing in collaboration with Qualcomm for the 5G ecosystem.

Preparing for the future by focusing on profits

From October 2022, Jio started trialling its 5G service in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata. By January 2023, this service will reach 225 cities. After offering very cheap plans for years, Jio hiked its tariffs by 12 to 25 percent in June 2024. Its direct aim was to increase earnings per user. Soon after Jio’s hike, Airtel and Vodafone Idea also hiked their prices.

According to the 2025 report, Jio had more than 48 crore users. Out of that 19.1 crore people were connected to 5G network. By 2026, the company’s scope is no longer limited to mobile networks. Now the company is working on artificial intelligence, fixed broadband to satellite communication.

By March 2026, the total number of Jio customers will reach 524 million. Of these, 26.8 crore are 5G users. The share of 5G in the company’s wireless data traffic has reached 55 percent. Fixed broadband subscribers have also increased to 2.71 crore due to the huge demand of Jio AirFiber. Now the company is working on a big plan to provide internet from space. Jio is going to build its own ‘low-earth orbit’ satellite network, for which it proposes to launch more than 1600 satellites. It has also received technical approval from the space regulator in July. The position the company has achieved in its 10-year journey is an example in the history of telecom.