New Delhi: After Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, India's largest mobile operator Reliance Jio on Sunday announced up to 21 per cent hike in its prepaid tariffs from the next month. Despite the increase in rates, Jio has kept the price of plans lower than Airtel and Vodafone Idea's which is expected to continue pricing competition in the industry. Jio TV & Jio Tablet Likely To Debut Next Year: Report.

The company still has kept its lowest rate for 28 days validity plan at Rs 91 for Jiophone users which is the lowest among private telecom operators. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have increased the entry level plan with 28 days validity to Rs 99. The tariff hikes entail JioPhone Plan, Unlimited Plans, and data add on, and range between 19.6 per cent and 21.3 percent.

"In line with its commitment to further strengthen a sustainable telecom industry, where every Indian is empowered with a true digital life, Jio today announced its new unlimited plans. These plans will provide the best value in the industry," Reliance Jio said in a statement.

The statement further said: "Upholding the Jio promise of providing the best-quality service at the lowest price globally, Jio customers will continue to be the biggest beneficiaries".

The new unlimited plans will go-live on December 1, 2021, and can be opted from existing touchpoints and channels. The company announced tariff hikes across 15 plans which include one for JioPhone users, 11 in unlimited category and three in data top up category. In the unlimited plan category, Jio has increased the price of its cheapest plan with 28 days validity to Rs 155 from Rs 129. The cheapest unlimited category with 84 days validity will be priced at Rs 395 instead of 329 at present. The popular unlimited category plan offering daily 1.5 GB daily data usage with 84 days validity will go up by about 20 per cent to Rs 666 from Rs 555 at present.

The company has announced that its annual unlimited category plan offering 2 GB daily data usage at 4G speed will be priced at Rs 2,879 instead of 2,399 at present. Airtel and Vodafone Idea last week announced up to 25 per cent hike in their prepaid plans tariffs to improve financials.

Several market analysts had said that the final assessment of the impact can be done only when Jio opens up its card on price hike. Airtel and VIL have been maintaining that average revenue per user needs to go up in the range of Rs 200 to Rs 300 per month for sustaining business but they have been unable to hike tariff due to competitive pressure. Jio ARPU in the second quarter ended September 30, 2021 was Rs 143.6 while that of Bharti Airtel and VIL in the same quarter was Rs 153 and Rs 109, respectively.