Jio users will be paying for phone calls they make to other service providers, but will be compensated with mobile data of equal value. So it’s true, there is always a silver lining, ha ha.
Today in a press conference, Jio said, ‘So, for all recharges done by Jio customers starting today, calls made to other mobile operators will be charged at the prevailing IUC (Interconnect Usage Charge) rate of 6 paise per minute through IUC top-up vouchers till such time that TRAI moves to Zero termination charge regime’.
Jio said, based on the IUC top up vouchers consumed by a customer, they will provide him with free data of equal value. They added, ‘this will ensure no increase in tariff for customers’. The charge of 6p/m will not be applicable on calls made from one Jio user to another Jio user, any incoming calls, calls made on landline, and calls made via FaceTime, WhatsApp, or any other similar platform.
Current IUC top up vouchers available are:
- For Rs. 10: 1GB free data along with 124 IUC minutes
- For Rs. 20: 2GB data with 249 IUC minutes
- For Rs. 50: 5GB data with 656 IUC minutes
- For Rs. 100: 10GB data with 1,362 IUC minutes.
According to Jio officals, these charges will remain applicable as long as telecom operators have to pay their rivals for voice calls made to other mobile operators’ network by their customer. Until today Jio has never charged its customers for calls, all the voice calls on pan India level were free, the company only charged for the data.
Jio said, ‘The price differential of free voice on Jio network and exorbitantly high tariffs on 2G networks causes the 35 – 40 crore 2G customers of Airtel and Vodafone-Idea to give missed calls to Jio customers. Jio network receives 25 to 30 crore missed calls on a daily basis’. This clearly shows that Jio’s competitors were losing a lot of revenue.
Do you agree with this changes imposed on Jio is correct? Tell us in the comment section.
