Prime Highlights :
- Jio and Airtel’s ultra-low-cost 5G home Wi-Fi plans could pose long-term sustainability issues due to increasing network load and low tariffs.
- Industry analysts caution that these products could affect mobile data quality and profitability unless pricing strategies change.
Key Facts :
- Jio and Airtel are adding 5–7 lakh new Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) home broadband connections monthly.
- FWA plans provide data at ₹1.4/GB, significantly less than the average ₹6.5/GB levied on mobile data plans.
Main Background :
India’s two largest telecom players, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, are moving fast to scale up their Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) businesses to increase home broadband reach and optimize their 5G investments. Such FWA services provide fast-speed internet through 5G signals and are being aggressively promoted with very low prices.
In contrast to the conventional mobile data plans that are priced at approximately ₹6.5 per GB, the new FWA plans provide data at only ₹1.4 per GB. To add to this, several plans are bundled with OTT services, further enhancing the attractiveness of such plans to customers. Such competitive pricing has fueled strong subscriber additions, with Jio and Airtel collectively adding more than half a million FWA customers each month.
Yet, experts are sounding the alarm. The acute price disparity between mobile and FWA data does not translate to a corresponding reduction in service charges. Instead, FWA customers use more data—almost twice that of mobile customers—whose greater usage puts an immense burden on the network. If the trend of increasing users continues, the pressure on the 5G spectrum may overwhelm both home and mobile networks.
This is a fundamental challenge. Telecom service providers will ultimately be unable to sustain service quality and profitability based on the existing pricing regime. Consequently, analysts feel that Jio and Airtel will have to rethink their pricing policy or go more aggressively towards fiber broadband, which is better suited for bulk data consumption.
Essentially, as affordable Wi-Fi is aiding penetration deeper into Indian homes, to maintain such low-cost economies without any compromise on quality might mean a strategic recast.
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