TRAI questioned Reliance Jio over its extended free services in the name of Happy New Year offer, Reliance Jio has now come up with an explanation stating that its free voice and data services does not violate any existing norms which limit promotional offers to 90 days and should not be treated as “predatory”.
The Mukesh Ambani-led company is learnt to have said that the that its latest offer is different from the inaugural offer and cannot be seen as an extension of the Welcome Offer, which ended on December 4. The company, in a detailed note, had explained that in the inaugural offer, the company provided 4GB of free data per day, but in the Happy New Year offer, it restricted the free internet up to 1GB under Fair Usage Policy. Jio also stressed on the fact that in the latest offer if the data limit is exhausted then one have to buy recharge vouchers, which was not the case in the initial offer.
Reliance Jio recently extended its free voice and data services on December 1 by announcing a new Happy New Year offer for both new and existing users which is valid up to March 31, 2017. As we reported earlier, TRAI has asked Reliance Jio to clarify “why the offer of free data under the promotional offer should not be treated as predatory.†The regulator is said to have found ‘prima facie’ evidence that shows the latest offer by Jio is similar to the old Welcome offer, which was introduced on September 5, 2016.
Last week, Airtel filed a 25-page petition before Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), accusing the regulator (TRAI) of being a ‘mute spectator’ and ‘sleeping trustee’ to the violations carried out by Jio after. Airtel, in the petition, has accused that the free services offered by Jio has caused “significant prejudice and day-to-day loss” to it and is “affecting its network” as it has to bear asymmetric traffic due to the free calling services offered by Reliance Jio.