Telecom stocks plummet after Jio unveils postpaid plans

Telecom stocks on Wednesday tumbled up to 10 per cent a day after Reliance Jio unveiled its postpaid plans.

Vodafone Ideashares plummeted 10.05 per cent to close at Rs 9.22 on the BSE. During the day, it tanked 14 per cent to Rs 8.81.

Bharti Airtel also tumbled 7.89 per cent to settle at Rs 433.90 after falling 9.99 per cent to Rs 423.95 during the day.

Bharti Airtel was the biggest laggard in the Sensex pack.

"Telco stocks like Vodafone Idea and Airtel plunged after Reliance Jio released a new postpaid tariff plan," said Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking.

After unleashing a price war in mobile tariffs and fibre-broadband services, billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio on Tuesday unveiled postpaid plans, bundling up to 500 GB of data and subscription to Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney + Hotstar.

JioPostPaid Plus for mobile customers will have a monthly tariff from Rs 399 to Rs 1,499 with different benefits, the company said in a statement.

The move assumes significance as it marks a major tariff offensive by Jio in the postpaid category, where typically average revenue per user (ARPUs) tend to be far higher than the pre-paid segment.

In a statement, Jio said that the main objective of the newly-launched JioPostpaid Plus service is to provide superior services across connectivity, entertainment, and experience.

With its latest postpaid offensive in the intensely-competitive Indian telecom market, Jio is also offering free home delivery and activation as well as premium call centre service.