Reliance Jio to End the Welcome Offer for Free Voice Calls and Data

Reliance Jio, led by Mukesh Ambani has announced that the welcome offer on new Jio connection of free data and voice calls will end on 3rd December. However, the customers can still enjoy the free service till 31st December.

As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s guideline, no company can offer free services for more than 90 days. Since Jio launched its welcome offer on 4 September, therefore, the offer should end on 3rd December.

After Bharti Airtel and Vodafone approached TRAI, complaining about the free calls and data plans provided by Jio to its customers till 31st December, Reliance Jio Officials have confirmed that all the plans offered by the company are fully complaint of all the norms and regulations IUC (Interconnection Usage Charges) and are non-predatory and non-discriminatory.

The companies have also complained about the increasing number of call drops because of the free calling services of Reliance Jio which are triggering a ‘tsunami’ of calls on their interconnection ports.

Earlier, Jio stated that customers can subscribe the welcome offer till 31st December and after the ultimatum of TRAI, the Jio officials have said that they will launch various economical plans for the customers who will subscribe after 3rd December and all the plans will consist of free voice calling, however, data charges will be applicable.

Here are the expected plan rates for Jio:

image source: telecomtalk.info

Big players like Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Idea have said that 75% of their revenue comes from voice calls and after Reliance Jio’s step to make voice calls free for lifetime, their revenue will take a very big hit.

To tackle this new player in the market, the other companies have started offering extra benefits to their customers. The 3G network providers such as Aircel and BSNL have also launched some competitive plans to compete with Reliance Jio.

21 October 2016
Rohan Jiatly