Reliance Jio has quietly discontinued its cheapest prepaid plans that offer 1GB of data per day 209 (22 days) and 249 (28 days). Change means that Jio customers will now need to go to the price of the next available scheme. 299, which provides 1.5GB of data per day with a validity of 28-day according to the investigation by the industry channel.
Live 209 and 249 schemes went offline
As per NDTV benefits, an executive of JIO stated that closed schemes are no longer available for online recharge, but still can be purchased at physical retail outlets. It effectively resets Jio’s online base plan 299, align with entry-level packs introduced by rivals Airtel and Vodafone ideas.
Changes in industry base tariff 299
The prepaid scheme of Airtel and Vodafone Idea also starts 299 for 28 days, but both competitives offer only 1GB per day, making Jio’s revised base 1.5GB slightly more competitive with daily quota. With this step, industry-wide base value for monthly prepaid schemes now stands up 299, increasing minimum expenditure for users.
Tariff Hike is expected at the end of 2025
Industry analysts hope that this change will be a precursor for another round of tariff hikes in telecom operators between October 2025 and January 2026. According to the NDTV Profit report, ICRA’s Ankit Jain said that the upcoming growth is likely to be smaller than last year’s hiking, compared to 2021% compared to 15–20%.
An ICRA analyst said, “A tariff hike is imminent. We hope that it is less than the previous year, less than 15-20%. Moving forward, operators can increase the tariff once every two years.”
If implemented, this step can extend the average revenue of the industry per user (ARPU) FY25 around 200 220 in FY26.
5G investment driving modification
Experts noted that operators, including Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, are under pressure to improve cash flow to support their ongoing 5G rollouts and spectrum related investments. Reliance Jio, while not confirming the deadline, has previously maintained that tariff improvement is necessary to maintain network expansion.
The final major increase in 2024 triggers some customer migration at BSNL, but analysts believe that private players are unlikely to change the validity of the scheme, instead focusing only on the headline price increase.
