India's largest share sale could end cheap mobile internet for millions

This aggressive discounting helped Jio rapidly amass some 553 million mobile subscribers by 2026. It also cemented its dominance in other segments, capturing 50% of the wireless broadband market and more than 40% of fixed broadband.

Jio also carries 60% of India's wireless data traffic and boasts of the largest 5G subscriber base outside China, according to brokerage Emkay Global, which has described the company as the "digital engine of India".

But analysts say its stock market debut - which will see its promoters dilute their shareholding by about 3% - could mark a turning point in Jio's pricing strategy, potentially bringing an end to years of ultra-cheap tariffs.

"The era of Jio using cheap tariffs as a market-share weapon is drawing to a close," said Nitya Shah, co-founder of KamayaKya Wealth Management.

"A listed Jio must answer to minority shareholders… which structurally reduces its incentive to keep pricing suppressed."

Jio's future growth will no longer be driven primarily by adding subscribers through discounted plans. Instead, it will depend on "earning more per subscriber - through the migration to 5G, successive tariff revisions, and the extension of fixed wireless broadband into homes fibre has never reached", brokerage company Motilal Oswal said in a note.

The listing could also pave the way for Jio's competitors to raise prices, as fears of being undercut by a cheaper rival begin to recede.

"The biggest beneficiary of this shift could be Vodafone Idea," says Shah. "It is a moment the sector's weakest balance sheet gets its strongest tailwind".