Reliance Jio which has been causing mayhem in the telecom circle ever since it rolled out free 4G services till the end of 2016, has announced that the offer will only be available to those who subscribe to its network before December 3.
Just to clarify – folks will get all the benefits of the Welcome Offer until December 31, as long as they’ve got a Reliance Jio connection or acquire one before December 3. The SIM card is for free and so are voice calls, data and SMS.
Reliance kicked off the Welcome Offer on September 5 this year. Since the telecom regulatory’s (TRAI) guidelines on promotional deals dictate that such offers cannot be extended to the public for more than 90 days, the company has had to place a December 3 deadline on it.
After said date, you will still be able to pick up a Jio SIM card, but you’ll have to pay for it and sign up for a tariff plan. What’s more, at the time of launch, Mukesh Ambani had declared that users would be able to enjoy free voice calls for life and low data costs.
Airtel, Vodafone and other service providers as well as the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) previously approached TRAI with the argument that Reliance Jio’s Welcome Offer amounted to predatory pricing. But these objections were overruled.
Also see: Reliance Jio, Airtel to offer free services on iPhone
On top of that, the telcos have been at war over dropped calls due to Reliance Jio subscribers clogging networks. It’s hard to say if the company will be able to deliver on its promise of free calls for life in the light of these issues.