Reliance Jio's long-awaited IPO could be India's largest, with an offer size as much as US$6.5 billion based on the midpoint of a US$120 billion to US$145 billion valuation range.
Jio's unmatched scale and annual Ebitda growth of about 20% position it for a premium to Bharti Airtel. Listing visibility could fast-track higher mobile tariffs, and new capital can help it push into India's fixed-broadband market
An enterprise value for Jio of 12 to 14 times 2027 Ebitda would be a premium to Bharti Airtel, implying a US$120 billion to US$145 billion valuation. Yet, its peer-beating mobile and fixed-broadband user growth, and unmatched market leadership, could help justify a valuation at the high end of that range, especially if Ebitda reaps gains from a tariff increase.
Proceeds could offer critical financial underpinning for several initiatives, including its push into India's sprawling, untapped fixed-broadband market, AI development, and revenue diversification by deploying in-house technologies abroad.
Reliance Industries owns 66.4% of Jio Platforms, Reliance Jio Infocomm's parent, which first floated the idea of listing the latter in 2019, with intent to do so within five years. On Aug 29, it proposed doing a listing by 1H2026, subject to approvals.
Jio's IPO enterprise value exceeding US$130 billion would place it among Asia's five largest telecom carriers. Once listed, its wider subscriber base and faster growth prospects could fetch it a 13 times 2027 EV/Ebitda multiple, a premium to domestic rival Bharti's 11 times, and well ahead of the 8 times Asian peer average.
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A 5% float would peg the offer size at US$6.5 billion, eclipsing past listings to make it India's largest-ever IPO, though a push to halve the minimum stake sale size to 2.5% remains under consideration.
Coal India had the largest listing in the past 15 years, at US$3.4 billion in 2010, followed by Hyundai Motor's more recent US$3.3 billion offering in 2024, and Reliance Power's US$3 billion raised in 2020, according to equity-offerings data at IPO
Jio's fixed-broadband market lead looks unassailable as it makes a two-pronged push via fibre and 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) into India's vast, untapped market. Its ambition to connect 100 million homes by 2030 would mark a fivefold jump from 20 million in fiscal 1Q2026, powered by growth target of a million new homes each month. Bharti Airtel, Jio's closest rival, trails with 11 million home customers and is trying to keep pace, targeting 2.5 million new users quarterly.
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Jio's earlier launch of FWA, backed by a superior 5G standalone network, has translated into a first-mover advantage, with a 77% share of 5G FWA subscribers vs. Bharti's 23%.
Fixed broadband covers less than 5% of the Indian market, well below the 19% global average, which implies considerable growth potential.
Reliance Jio's shift from subscriber growth to wringing more revenue from its 500 million users could keep Ebitda on a 20% annual growth track. Pruning entry-level plans and nudging users to higher allowances — coupled with visibility on IPO timing — signal higher tariffs ahead, with increases of 10-20% possible.
Jio's average revenue per user (ARPU) rose to 209 rupees in fiscal 1Q2026, up 74% since the first tariff hike in 2019, but still 17% below Bharti. Despite the latter's push toward a 300-rupee ARPU, Jio's mix of scale, heavier 5G usage, and multi-product bundling give its profit and revenue share a range of routes to growth outperformance.
India's data costs remain about one-third of China's, and are dismal compared to the US despite July's 10-27% tariff increases.
