Reliance Jio's free service might get extended until June 30, but the company might charge a token fee. Offering a nominal price for data - lower than what it had announced in September - with voice over LTE free may prevent a sharp drop in customers, and the operator can still start its payment cycles, said, analysts.
The company announced its 4G VoLTE services for consumers on September 1 and offered free access to data and voice calls till December 31. The company then announced 'Happy New Year Offer,' which extended the offer till March 31, 2017. Reliance Jio has added over 72 million subscribers since the service began.
The operator has been criticised by users for inconsistent data speeds and calls not getting through. On December 1, it announced plans to decongest its network to improve data speeds for its users and blamed other operators for not providing sufficient interconnect points for calling.
"We expect many will go back to using their primary number if the (free) offer is withdrawn, and Jio could well lose over half its subscribers if it starts charging more without fixing the call drop problem," said Chris Lane, a senior analyst at US brokerage, Bernstein.
Reliance Jio's free service has been heavily criticised by telecom operators in the past. Airtel recently filed a petition with the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against TRAI for allowing Reliance Jio's promo offers.
Taking Jio's offer a step further, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, Mukesh Ambani, on Thursday announced the 'Jio Happy New Year' offer for its new and existing customers.
"Starting Dec 4, 2016, every new Jio user will get data, voice, video and the full bouquet of applications absolutely free till March 31, 2017. We are calling this Jio Happy New Year offer. All existing Jio customers will get extended benefits of Jio Happy New Year offer on current SIMs," Ambani said in an address to stakeholders at RIL’s Navi Mumbai office.
Starting its service in September, Jio already has over 52 million customers registered, he said, "In the first three months, Jio has grown faster than Facebook, Whatsapp or Skype." Ambani added that on an average a Jio customer was "using 25 times more data than the average Indian broadband user." Under the Jio Happy New Year offer, Jio customers will get 30 times the average usage on other networks absolutely free until March 31, 2017.
Jio signs up more than 6 lakh customers every single day for the last three months, with the help its fast-track Aadhaar-based eKYC, which allows SIM activation in five minutes.
Ambani added: "We have recently introduced home delivery of Jio SIMs, so that these customers, who are often too busy to visit a store, can get a Jio SIM home delivered."
"And once delivered, the Jio SIM can be activated in 5 minutes through eKYC. This feature is being progressively launched across India through the MyJio application and will be available in the top 100 cities by December 31, 2016." About 8 per cent of Jio towers have experienced congestion due to abnormally high data usage.
Mukesh Ambani also claimed that nearly 900 crore voice calls from Reliance Jio were blocked by other telcos, and added that Jio thanks the government and TRAI for enforcing the license conditions. He added, "call block rates have come down from over 90 percent to nearly 20 percent yesterday, and we are working with all operators to bring this to within the limit of 0.2 percent."
He also added that Jio now fully supports MNP so all customers can retain their number while migrating to Jio.
At the Annual General Meeting held in Mumbai, Mukesh Ambani launched the highly-anticipated Jio services. Starting 5 September, the services will move out of the beta phase. Jio has announced a new Welcome Offer, which will let you continue to enjoy the 90 days benefits (free voice, apps, and 4G LTE data) that were announced in the Preview, until December 31, 2016. Jio data plans have been optimised to cost as low as 5 paise/MB, which would mean up to Rs 50 for 1GB.
The company has announced tariff plans starting at a base price of mere Rs 19 to up to Rs 4999. Here’s a quick look at each one of them:
XXS Plan – Rs 19
This plan offers 0.1GB 4G data with unlimited 4G data at night and unlimited SMS. Users get 0.2GB of Wi-Fi JioNet Hotspot with the validity of the pack for one day. Free access to Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250 along with free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India.
XS Plan – Rs 199
0.75GB 4G data with unlimited 4G data at night and unlimited SMS. Free access to Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250 with 1.5GB JioNet Hotspot data. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India. The plan is valid for seven days.
S Plan – Rs 299
Users get 2GB 4G data with unlimited 4G data at night and 1.5GB JioNet Hotspot data. Free access to Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250. Free unlimited voice calls and SMS – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India. The plan is valid for 21 days.
S Plan – Rs 149
Users get 0.3GB 4G data and 100 SMS. Free access to Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India.
M Plan – Rs 499
4GB data with unlimited 4G data access at night and 8GB JioNet WiFi Hotspot access. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India, unlimited local/STD SMS and Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250.
M Plan – Rs 999
With this plan, you will get 10GB of 4G data + unlimited 4G access at night. 20GB of Wi-Fi JioNet Hotspot access. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India, unlimited local/STD SMS and Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250.
L Plan – Rs 1499
At Rs 1499, the plan brings 20GB of 4G data + unlimited 4G access at night. 40GB of Wi-Fi JioNet Hotspot access. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India, unlimited local/STD SMS and Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250.
XL Plan – Rs 2499
This plan gives you 35GB of 4G data + unlimited 4G access at night. 70GB of Wi-Fi JioNet Hotspot access. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India, unlimited local/STD SMS and Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250.
XXL Plan – Rs 3999
With this plan you will get 60GB of 4G data + unlimited 4G access at night. 120GB of Wi-Fi JioNet Hotspot access. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India, unlimited local/STD SMS and Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250.
XXXL Plan – Rs 4999
With this plan you will get 75GB of 4G data + unlimited 4G access at night. 150GB of Wi-Fi JioNet Hotspot access. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India, unlimited local/STD SMS and Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250.
The plans (Rs 149 S to XXXL Plan) are valid for 28 days each. Besides the above mentioned plans, students can avail of special additional 25 percent more data on producing a valid student identity card. Jio’s app booking, a subscription worth Rs 15,000 will be made available for free till 31 December 2017. Jio already covers 18,000 cities and towns, and 200,000 villages. It plans to expand to 90 percent of the population. It also plans an e-KYC system and its VoLTE smartphones start at Rs 2,999.
