New Delhi :
Telecom operator Reliance Jio has claimed that it is offering five times more free outgoing calls limit on other networks than an average customer requires and they are unlikely to pay for the calls. The Mukesh Ambani-led telecom operator added that its new plan are offering up to 25 per cent more value than that of rivals.
Reaction from Reliance Jio came after Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea removed cap on outgoing calls limit outside their network with effect from December 6, the day Reliance Jio rolled out mobile call and data plans priced up to 40 per cent compared to previous offerings.
“Entitlement for off-net calls in Jio’s ‘All in One Plans’ is more than 5 times of what an average customer uses as per industry data and consequently, an average Jio customer is unlikely to have to ever pay for off net calls. We reiterate that Jio plans offer up to 25 per cent higher value than comparable plans of other operators,” Reliance Jio said in a statement.
The company is offering 1,000 minutes per month (28-day cycle) of free calling every month across all plans. Both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea earlier capped outgoing calls to other networks at 1,000 minutes in plan with 28-days validity, 3,000 minutes in 84-day validity and 12,000 in 365 days validity plan. Beyond this limit, customers were required to pay 6 paise per minute for outgoing calls made to other networks.
“We heard you! And we are making the change. From tomorrow, enjoy unlimited calling to any network in India with all our unlimited plans. No conditions apply,” Bharti Airtel said in a tweet on Friday. Vodafone Idea also made similar announcement on Twitter. “Here are unlimited possibilities with free unlimited calling, even to other networks,” Vodafone Idea tweeted with note that the changes are effective from December 6 onward.
Apart from this, San Diego-based chipmaker Qualcomm on Wednesday said it is working with Reliance Jio, Flipkart and Amazon India to build new use cases for 5G. The chipmaker also highlighted the need for markets like India to put conditions in place for speedy deployment of the fifth-generation services.
Senior vice-president and general manager of the mobile business unit at Qualcomm Technologies Alex Katouzian said India could be instrumental in building new use cases for 5G. “We work with Reliance Jio for their services and are involved with them on a fairly active basis for building 5G use cases,” Katouzian said.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Qualcomm’s annual Snapdragon Summit here, he said, “We also work with Flipkart and Amazon India (for 5G). We innovate with them quite a bit, we go through their services”. Cristiano Amon, President of Qualcomm Inc said there was no technological reason for 5G not to be deployed.
“On auction, in general, not unique to India but the message to across all markets and governments, it is very important to put the conditions for 5G deployment to occur,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
