According to the latest report from Motilal Oswal, Reliance Jio has announced that the crowd for “Welcome Offer” may continue till March 2017 after the planned cutoff date of 31st December, with a target of hitting 100 million subscribers.
Reliance industry had said before on 20th October that the “Welcome Offer” on Jio, launched on 5th September will expire on 3rd December but the benefits of free data and calls will continue till 31st December. This offer is extended till March 2017 to attract subscriber growth towards the celebrated 100 million mark with RJio’s indicative data pricing at Rs 130-140 per GB.
Citi Research analysts have also reportedly said that there were no restrictions on the number of promotional offers a company can launch. While a TRAI directive says that any free service’s plan cannot extend beyond 90 days. It appears that Reliance Jio feels that unless it is able to deliver quality service to the subscribers, it is unfair to charge them.
Citi Research analysts have also written in a note that,”If the situation with the points of interconnect referring to voice calls lingers with the incumbents, then they will look ingenious solutions to confirm that users do not pay until and unless the quality of service improves.
At a press conference after Reliance Industries reported its second-quarter earnings on Thursday, Anshuman Thakur, head of Strategy and planning at Reliance Jio, said that “We have told TRAI and Government that customers have faced issues regarding the quality of service due to interconnection blockage from which they are unable to enjoy the services that they deserve.
Thakur added that Jio does not need permission from the TRAI to extend free services beyond December. TRAI tariff is under avoidance. What TRAI requires to do is file the tariff plans with TRAI so that if they have any comments, they can come back. So TRAI does not need to accept but if it has any comment or observations to make, or wants the operator to modify the plan in any way, the operator has to do that.
