Reliance Jio wins big against Airtel & Vodafone, TRAI says free calls rule- compliant

Looks like, nothing can stop or beat Mukesh Ambani at the moment. Riding high on the success of Jio’s welcome offer, Reliance had stumbled upon a minor glitch when incumbent telcos like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and others - had approached the telecom regulator TRAI against their free call service, calling it predatory, discriminatory and non-compliant to present rules.

However, TRAI has ruled in Reliance Jio’s favor saying that the tariff plans do not breach the existing rules. “It is found that the tariff plans filed with TRAI cannot be considered as IUC (interconnection usage charges) non-complaint, predatory and discriminatory, at present," the telecom regulator said in a letter to telecom operators.

Notably, the veteran players had also asked the regulator to find "a way to curb the massive asymmetric traffic to ensure that receiving networks are not abused by a tsunami of free traffic."

Telecom operators are required to pay 14 paise per minute for each outgoing call from their network to the operator on whose network the call finally lands. This is known as interconnection usage charges.

"This (TRAI's letter) clearly establishes the fact that all the tariffs offered by RJIL (Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited) are in compliance with the prevailing regulations. A key feature of RJIL's tariff packs is a free voice calling for Local, STD and National roaming for all times," Reliance Jio said in a statement.

As for the allegations of free data service offered by Jio beyond 90 days, TRAI said, "The revised offer of free services by Reliance Jio has been limited to 90 days i.e. December 3, 2016, and therefore is consistent with the guidelines on promotional offers."

Reliance has said that its welcome offer of free voice calls and data will be available until December 31 but only for those users who subscribe to its services by December 3.