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<ul><li>Reliance Jio is asking TRAI to either reduce or remove Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC). </li><li>TRAI had initially planned to remove IUC charges from January 1, 2020 under the Bill and Keep (BAK) regime. </li><li>Airtel and Vodafone Idea were against the move, citing huge costs involved in allowing incoming calls from the Jio network.</li></ul> Reliance Jio approached the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to either reduce or remove Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC). Currently, IUC is charged at 6 paise per minute by the operator on whose network the calls terminate. In October, Reliance Jio announced that it will start charging 6 paise per minute for calls that are made to other networks. This change was made on packs which promised complete free calling earlier. Jio-to-Jio calls however continued to remain free. At the time, Jio noted that this charge would be levied until TRAI removes IUC charges. TRAI had initially planned to remove IUC charges from January 1, 2020 under the Bill and Keep (BAK) regime. However, incumbent operators Airtel and Vodafone Idea were against the move, citing huge costs involved in allowing incoming calls from the Jio network. Last week, TRAI held an open discussion on “Review of Interconnection Usage Charges”. Jio’s representative at the discussion held that since voice calling symmetry has been achieved between Jio and the incumbent operators, there was no need to levy IUC charges anymore. The company <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/jio-urges-trai-for-removal-or-reduction-of-iuc-charges-4645571.html">held</a> that the BAK regime should be implemented as planned from January 1, 2020. The implementation of this regime would bring down IUC charges to zero. Airtel and Vodafone Idea opposed this argument and demanded that IUC charges of 6 paise per minute should be levied for the next three years at least. Reliance Jio alleged that Airtel and Vodafone Idea were diverting their incoming voice call traffic to 2G or 3G networks to inflate their voice call costs. This could hold some merit as we’ve experienced that incoming voice calls on Airtel’s network are routed via 2G, which puts the Jio 4G network on pause temporarily even on a compatible dual 4G VoLTE smartphone. Airtel however denied these allegations. Vodafone Idea, on its part, did not expressly deny this and stated that subscribers were free to port out of their network. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambanis-jio-faces-backlash-for-tariff-increase/articleshow/71573757.cms">Reliance Jio is paying the price for being the ‘second SIM’ of choice</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/reliance-jio-airtel-and-vodafone-idea-may-raise-tariff-soon/articleshow/71757089.cms">Whether you use Jio, Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, get ready to pay more for mobile services— sooner than later</a>

Reliance Jio asks TRAI to either reduce or remove IUC charges

<ul><li>Jio’s new tariffs have users in a tussle about having to top-up in order to make calls to other numbers. </li><li>Even though Jio has introduced new ‘all-in-one’ data plans, they do not include unlimited calling minutes — only limited IUC minutes at a discounted price. </li><li>Long term plans, exceeding ₹999, aren’t privy to unlimited calling either. </li></ul>Last month, Jio hiked its tariffs. But that’s not the only issue its users are facing. The plans, which were fairly simple earlier, are being perceived as complicated. The data recharge plans normally included unlimited local calling. But now users need to use top-up vouchers to cover the ‘<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/reliance-jio-aks-trai-to-either-reduce-or-remove-iuc-charges/articleshow/72107616.cms">interconnect usage charge</a>’ (IUC) — or calls to other networks. And, even then, the minutes are limited. The recent changes have left users confused and frustrated unaware that even Jio’s new ‘all-in-one’ plans don’t necessarily include unlimited calling — just unlimited calling to other Jio numbers. <div type="twitter" handle="the_thok" handlename="Zeus_Of_Options" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1194334389406179329/qHWV2Gkj_normal.jpg" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" status="@reliancejio for what am I being charged for IUC when I don’t want to, why am I being forced to buy this IUC which… https://t.co/XHga88oaFh" createdat="1574708868000" id="1199042015729717254"></div>

 <div type="twitter" handle="prashj9" handlename="prashant jain" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/588303708892467200/pCfDumTW_normal.jpg" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" status="Recharge plan of 444, just got finished in 15 days on voice call,but have validity of 3 months, Vaha re JIO, aacha… https://t.co/oRq0rGlWxQ" createdat="1574771184000" id="1199303388497793025"></div>

 How are traditional data plans different? Traditional daily data plans that sell for ₹449 for 91 days, ₹399 for 84 days and ₹349 for 70 days don’t come bundled with any minutes whatsoever. All Jio-to-Jio calls will be free but you’ll need additional balance in order to make calls to under networks. These calls will be charged at 6paise/minute. <div type="twitter" handle="MemesChennai" handlename="Chennai Memes" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/832475932451491842/kRbBu-BR_normal.jpg" favoritecount="38" retweetcount="3" status="Life of #JIO users these days : First recharge monthly to get incoming calls and again recharge balance to make ou… https://t.co/RfS3lvxIoj" createdat="1574684739000" id="1198940810768568320"></div>

 How can I get free calling to other networks with data? In case, you don’t want to recharge with balance, Jio does give users to option to top-up their plans with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/interconnect-usage-charge-iuc-top-up-voucher-detail-for-reliance-jio-customer/articleshow/71516405.cms">IUC vouchers</a> — ₹10 gets you 124 IUC minutes, while ₹100 can provide 1362 IUC minutes. The IUC voucher, however, has to be applied alongside the data recharge. It is not a standalone option that can be added later. Even the long-term plans for ₹999, ₹1999, ₹4999 and ₹9999 don’t have free calling to other networks and need to be supplemented with IUC vouchers. What do Jio’s new ‘all-in-one’ plans include? Jio’s ‘all-in-one’ plans don’t actually include everything but are more budget-friendly for people who need to make calls to outside networks. The cheapest plan at ₹149 includes 300 minutes of IUC calls and 1.5GB of daily data for 24 days. Once the IUC minutes run out, you will be charged for calls at 6 paise/minute. Subsequent plans of ₹222, ₹333, and ₹444 — lasting 28, 56, and 84 days respectively — all come with 2GB daily data and 1000 IUC minutes. How can I protect myself against future price hikes? Jio and other telecom companies in the market are expected to increase tariffs again after December 1. But Jio — and Airtel — are now allowing users to queue up their data recharges at the current price to activate in the future. If you’re a Jio subscriber, all you have to do is go into the MyJio app and recharge with any of the plans that you wish to activate at a later date. After you’ve made the payment, the plan will automatically show up under the ‘My Plans’ section of the app. Once your current plan expires, you’ll have to manually implement it by selecting the ‘activate’ option. <div type="twitter" handle="vinay_vania" handlename="Vinay Vania" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1054977444485173249/WflE4bDz_normal.jpg" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" status="@JioCare @reliancejio Pathetic policies of Jio doesn't allow me to make calls even though I hv just done a top-up r… https://t.co/I0TLrfigzJ" createdat="1574754335000" id="1199232717117767680"></div>

 <div type="twitter" handle="TUMULURU" handlename="praveen tumuluru" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1690615162/100_0838_normal.JPG" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" status="@jio @reliancejio @JioCare It seems, jio introduced, balance, i mean to call we need to recharge with some amount,… https://t.co/VK7Db4ZuYq" createdat="1574681457000" id="1198927047352913921"></div>

 <div type="twitter" handle="TulipDeshmukh" handlename="Tulip Deshmukh" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1118439049000128512/uBSQSU-z_normal.jpg" favoritecount="1" retweetcount="0" status="Used my jio call service by calling unlimited calls &amp; now you have to recharge for jio number although I have recha… https://t.co/Wi8nhEeJyO" createdat="1574583084000" id="1198514442188648448"></div>

Jio’s new recharge plans can be confusing — here’s how to figure them out

<ul><li>Jio users will have to ₹10 to ₹100 for interconnect usage charge (<keyword id="643514" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IUC">IUC</keyword>). </li><li>The minimum <keyword id="8199552" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="iuc-top-up-voucher">IUC top up voucher</keyword> is of ₹10 where the Jio user will get 124 minutes. </li><li>Jio users will be entitled to free data between 10GB and 100 GB along with the voice calling minutes. </li></ul><keyword id="6354504" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> user will now have to pay six paise per minute for a voice call made on other networks like Airtel, Vodafone Idea etc. Reliance Jio user will have to choose from the four different top-up packages ranging from ₹10 to ₹100 for interconnecting usage charge (IUC). However, Jio users will be entitled to free data between 10GB and 100 GB along with the voice calling minutes. The IUC charge will be imposed from 10 October, 2019. Here are the six IUC vouchers launched by Reliance Jio: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">IUC Top-Up Recharge (₹) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">IUC (Non-Jio minutes) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Free Data </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹10 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">124 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹20 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">249 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹50 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">656 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹100 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1362 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">10 </td></tr></tbody></table> These are no charges on the following services by Jio: (a) all Jio to Jio calls; (b) all incoming calls; (c) Jio to landline calls; (d) WhatsApp or FaceTime calls

Here are the new interconnect usage charge (IUC) for a Jio user

New Delhi, Dec 17 () In a big boost to Airtel and other old telcos, regulator Trai on Tuesday deferred by one year the scrapping of the charge paid by mobile phone users for calls made to rival networks and initiated talks to prescribe minimum or floor price for call and data, effectively ending free call regime.
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, which are staring at a liability of thousands of crore in unpaid past statutory dues following a Supreme Court ruling, had been through their association pitching with the government for fixing of a floor rate for calls and data. 
Their association had also been lobbying for extending the 6 paise per minute interconnect usage charge (IUC).
On Tuesday, Trai announced that telecom operators will continue to pay 6 paise per minute for every outgoing call made to their competitors' network till December 31, 2020. These charges are proposed to become zero from January 1, 2021.
Telecom industry body COAI sees it as a relief for the debt-ridden sector and asserts that continuing with six paise mobile call termination charge will not have any impact on consumers as operators have already absorbed this charge in their recently increased mobile call and data rates.
"For wireless to wireless domestic calls, termination charge would continue to remain as Re 0.06 (paise six only) per minute up to December 31, 2020," Trai said.
Within hours of IUC announcement, TRAI released a consultation paper to fix minimum or floor rates for mobile phone calls and data, a move that will effectively end the regime of free calling and dirt cheap data.
The telecom call and data rates are at present under forbearance or not regulated. However, private telecom operators unanimously approached the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to fix minimum price for mobile internet rates.
The outcome is likely to lead to further hike in mobile call and data cost as industry wants average revenue per user to reach Rs 300 per month from about Rs 125 at present over period of two years - better revenue realisation per user will offer a much needed breather to stressed telecom industry where debt levels have soared to Rs 7.8 lakh crore.
Trai in the "Consultation Paper on Tariff Issues of Telecom Services" said that there have been minor adjustments by the telecom service providers (TSPs) to their tariff offerings since the initial announcement.
"It is to be seen whether further readjustments in tariffs will be done in view of the high level of competition in the market. In such a scenario, where the TSPs have recently announced a substantial hike in tariffs, it needs to be discussed whether there is still a need for any regulatory intervention," Trai said.
The development comes following the three private telecom operators, which account for 90 per cent market share, raising mobile call and internet rates by up to 50 per cent from December 3 onwards. This had effectively marked the first hike in the five years in the country's telecom sector that had been engaged in a brutal tariff war -- voice calls had become almost free in 2016 and a steep 95 per cent fall had been seen in data prices (to Rs 11.78 per GB at present from Rs 269 per GB in 2014).
While telecom operators requested for minimum price for mobile data only, the regulator has also sought public comments on fixing minimum price for phone calls by January 17 and counter comments by January 31. 
Rajan S Mathews, Director General of COAI welcomed Trai's move to initiate a consultation on floor pricing and said it will ensure that the telecom industry remains healthy and robust. The move will also provide confidence to investors to make available needed resources, he said.
"In our previous submission to Trai, we have highlighted that tariff correction is necessary for improving the financial health of the industry. The only option available is for the regulator to intervene and correct the anomalous pricing situation prevailing in the market place," Mathews said. PRS MBI ANZ MKJ

Trai's consultation on floor price, decision on IUC extension spells relief for Airtel, Voda

India’s top telcos are demanding a cut in licence fee, spectrum usage charge (SUC) and Universal Service Obligation Fund levy so that they can come out of the financial stress that they are in. However, regarding the issue of interconnect charges (IUC), Indian telecom companies have come to a standstill with little chances of a consensus. While incumbent telcos like <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone India and <keyword id="6354924" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Idea-Cellular">Idea Cellular</keyword> have demanded that IUC be raised, debutant <keyword id="1543410" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio-Infocomm">Reliance Jio Infocomm</keyword> has asked for it to be scrapped. The IUC is a fee that one telco has to pay to the other telco on whose network a call terminates. Presently, it stands at 14 paise per minute, considered to be around half of an incumbent carrier's cost per call. The reason why <keyword id="2003276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> wants it scrapped is that it relies on free offers to earn the loyalty of customers ever since it was launched in September last year, and believes that IUC is a subsidy provided to incumbent carriers. If IUC is abolished, Jio would be befitted by reduction in its IUC payout, as it clearly has more outgoing calls to <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone India and Idea. None of the telcos wish to change their stand regarding the issue, since incumbent telcos have also urged <keyword id="6356988" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="TRAI">TRAI</keyword> to create a floor price for voice and data services, which Jio has opposed saying that it won’t ever charge for voice services for life. If there is a floor price, Jio would have to end its free services, leading to a probability of customers moving back to their original carriers, which Jio wishes to avoid.

IUC becomes bone of contention between incumbent telcos and Jio

Once arch rivals, Vodafone, Bharati <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> and Idea Cellular have now teamed up against <keyword id="2003276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> and complained to the government that latter’s predatory pricing has been eating up in their revenues. To make sure, the government pays heed to their outrage, the three telecom operators claimed their incompetence to invest in future technology and create jobs. The top players in the industry had met a government panel, which aims to analyse the losses in the industry. <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> backed Jio has been accused of providing cellular services at ‘too low’ a cost, which is responsible for decline in the revenue generation. According to a <keyword id="6356641" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="times-of-india">Times of India</keyword> report, the worst affected Airtel, which has seen a severe contraction in profitability post the aggressive launch of services by Jio in September last year, said that the return on capital employed (ROCE) had dropped down to "perilously lower levels" and is "highly likely to be negative" if relief is not provided. Airtel said losses to the industry will also restrict the government's ability to earn from the sector. Its earnings will come down by Rs 10,000 crore. "Consolidation/ reduced investments will result in loss of direct/ indirect employment." The companies have sought to increase charge for terminating a call on their networks to be increased from the existing 14 paise per minute. "The IUC rate of 14 paise is lower than actual cost. In order to make this financially viable, it is critical that traffic between operators is symmetrical," Airtel told <keyword id="6371459" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="toi">TOI</keyword>. "IUC needs to be correctly determined to prevent predatory voice-pricing environment. Aggressive tariffs in voice and data have resulted in a scenario of pricing below cost with every operator," Idea told TOI, seeking the fixation of a floor price for voice and data prices. However Jio has refused to the allegations. It believes that lack of investments by them in new technologies and mounting debt are making the other rivals outrageous.

Airtel, Vodafone, Idea blame Jio for revenue losses

New Delhi, Nov 18 () The telecom regulator expects to finalise its views on the contentious call connect charges issue by the end of this month, a top TRAI official said on Monday.
Last week, TRAI conducted an open house discussion with industry representatives and other stakeholders on whether there is a need to postpone the applicable date for scrapping the call connect charges also called Interconnection Usage Charges (IUC) beyond January 1, 2020.
A senior TRAI official, who did not wish to be named, said the regulator is hopeful of firming up its views by November-end but did not divulge further details. The official was speaking on the sidelines of ASEAN-TRAI program on capacity building and sharing of best practices in policy regulation and development.
 Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio had earlier claimed that any change in implementation of original timeline of January 1 will end the free voice regime and is likely to increase tariffs which is against consumer interest.
Typically, a telecom operator pays for completing calls made by its subscribers to a rival network. This is done by paying the rival network an IUC, which currently is 6 paise per minute. 
 Trai's move to reopen the deadline for ending IUC beyond January 2020 had forced Jio to levy a 6 paise per minute charge on its users recently, effectively ending its free call regime.
During the recent open house - a forum offered by TRAI to listen to verbal response from the industry post a round of written submissions on an issue up for consultation - Reliance Jio had said that delaying the implementation of zero call connect charges beyond January 2020 will hurt affordability of telecom services in a sector where users have benefited from free voice calls.
 Reliance Jio Director Mahendra Nahata said the ratio of incoming and outgoing call is now at par with each other and traffic asymmetry can, therefore, no longer be the reason to delay implementation of Bill and Keep (BAK) regime (that is zero mobile termination charge from January 1, 2020).
Arguing for continuation of these charges, Airtel had said IUC should not come down to zero and the BAK regime should be postponed by at least three years. MBI ANU

TRAI hopes to finalise views on call connect charges by Nov-end: Official

<ul><li>Last week, Jio increased its calling tariffs by 6 paise per minute. </li><li>India Ratings says that the industry’s average revenue per user (ARPU) will go up by 15-18% after Jio’s price hike. </li><li>Jio’s data tariffs are 25-30% cheaper than that of Airtel and Voda-Idea. </li><li>Jio is a net payer of IUC charges, whereas Voda-Idea and Airtel are net-receivers of IUC receipts--as calls originate from Jio and land on other networks. </li></ul> It had to happen one day. But Reliance Jio’s move to increase tariffs came sooner than expected. Even as Jio, Vodafone Idea and Airtel are teasing each other over it on social media, and thousands are trolling Mukesh Ambani for ‘breaking his free’ promise---it is good news for the industry. At least that is what India Ratings believes. Jio charging its customers 6 paise per minute on its ‘free’ calling package—can help increase the rising margins of the industry. The sector’s average revenue per user will go up by ₹9, and in general increase by 15-18% according to the rating agency. Like Jio says in its tweet, this amount will be going to Vodafone Idea and Airtel as Jio can no longer get away without paying telecom department’s mandatory inter-connection (IUC) charges. This is the charge paid to a network which is receiving calls, by the network from where a call originates. In an ideal situation, the amount all networks pay each other should balance out—considering their subscriber number is around the same. However, that is not to be. Jio has the most to lose. The offnet minutes of usage is 64% for Jio, while it is at 41% for Voda-Idea and 45% for Airtel. “Also, of the total offnet voice traffic, net incoming minutes as a proportion of total offnet minutes stands at negative 29% for R-Jio whereas the same is 9% and 19% for Airtel and Voda-Idea respectively, implying that network voice traffic imbalance is significantly higher for R-Jio compared with peers. Hence, R-Jio remains a net-payer of IUC expenses, whereas Voda-Idea and Airtel are net-receivers of IUC receipts,” says India Ratings. Basically, calls originate from Jio and land on other networks. Jio users continue to keep other network SIMs It means that more people are using Jio SIMs for its cheap data plans, and also for making the ‘free’ calls it offers. It makes sense as Jio’s data tariffs are 25-30% cheaper than that of Airtel and Voda-Idea. Yet, users have not given up their basic SIMs which belonged to other networks, and continue to exist. These numbers are ‘primary’ phone numbers which are key to their bank accounts and other necessary identifications. And, few seem to believe that cheap tariff party will not continue to exist. All mixed with the ease of owning multiple SIMs have played against Jio. Had subscribers chosen to keep only Jio connections and get rid of others, they would have ported to it. Looks like not many have done that.

Reliance Jio is paying the price for being the ‘second SIM’ of choice

New Delhi, Jun 24 () Reliance Jio would play a key role in the development of the 5G ecosystem in India based on the market dynamics, Reliance Industries said in its latest annual report. On the issue of floor price for mobile services, the company noted that market dynamics have improved in the recent past as reflected by December tariff hikes by operators. The government has also expressed its intentions of conducting the next round of spectrum auctions during the fiscal year 2020-21, it said. "Jio with its 5G-ready network and extensive fiber assets, would play a key role in the development of the 5G ecosystem in India, based on market dynamics," the annual report stated. In his letter to shareholders, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said that there are still millions of 2G phone users, who cannot use internet, highlighting urgent need for India to transition fully from 2G to the 4G era and beyond, and underlining the opportunity Jio has in such transformation. "Over the past two years, JioPhone has successfully transitioned approximately 100 million erstwhile feature phone (2G) users to the 4G network," he said. Ambani noted that Jio's success in building technology specifically for India and its ability to proliferate across the country has attracted global technology leaders – Facebook and Microsoft - to forge partnerships with it. Reliance Jio continues to add subscribers at a rate unprecedented in the telecom world with 387.5 million mobile data subscribers (as of March 31, 2020), Ambani said. Describing Jio as a key catalyst in creating the broadband data market in India, he said it is now the number one mobile telecom operator in the country by both adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and subscribers. Reliance Jio is rolling out its state-of-the-art wireline services across homes and enterprises, he said adding all this will help place a strong foundation for offering platform-based digital services. According to the report, Jio connected about one million homes with JioFiber services until March 2020. Ambani further said that rollout of the digital commerce initiative will open up further growth opportunities for the organised retail business, leveraging the strength of consumer and digital platforms. "Reliance Retail and WhatsApp have entered into a commercial partnership agreement to further accelerate Reliance Retail's Digital Commerce business on the JioMart platform using WhatsApp and to support small businesses on WhatsApp," he said. Further, Jio said that market dynamics have improved in the recent past, as reflected by tariff hikes in December 2019, where all the operators revised their tariff plans upwards by up to 40 per cent. "During the year, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also initiated consultation process on feasibility of establishing a floor price for mobility services in the country," it said, adding that Jio would continue to actively engage with the regulator and industry stakeholders to drive growth for all. On the issue of call connect charges, where interconnect usage charge (IUC) would be reduced to zero with effect from January 1, 2021, Jio said it accordingly introduced a charge of 6 paise/minute on all off-net outgoing voice minutes to pass through the impact of change in regulatory stance on IUC in October 2019. "This has led to a significant improvement in voice traffic mix as misusers of free voice services have left the network and Jio is now a net receiver of IUC. Jio continues to believe that transition to the BAK (Bill and Keep) regime will hasten the adoption of more efficient technologies like VoLTE, which have negligible cost for carrying and servicing essential voice services," RIL said. In the recent months, Reliance Industries has secured over Rs 1.15 lakh crore from global tech investors including Facebook by selling a tad less than a quarter of its digital business and raised Rs 53,124 crore by selling shares to existing investors in the past days. Sale of stake in Jio Platforms raised Rs 1,15,693.95 crore from marquee names including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG, L Catterton and PIF since April 22, 2020. MBI ANS ANS

Jio poised to play key role in development of 5G ecosystem in India: RIL

New Delhi, Feb 12 () The Competition Commission has dismissed a complaint against Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Airtel and Sify Technologies which alleged that they were charging higher rates for overseas inbound calls as compared to the ceiling fixed by telecom regulator Trai. The order came on a complaint filed by Canada-based Teleclub (Alberta Ltd), which is an international telecom carrier. The complainant alleged that the Indian telecom operators together decided to charge standard rate of 0.0053 USD for inbound calls terminating on their network in India, instead of the rates fixed by Trai. As per IUC Regulations, 2018, the telecom regulator prescribes international termination charges (ITC) of Rs 0.30 per minute for international incoming calls to wireline and wireless networks, it said. It added that the telecom operators further increased the rate of inbound calls to 0.0115 USD per minute after another meeting in February 2018. Besides, they allegedly harassed the firm by choking its ports used for sending traffic. Subsequently, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) sought the opinion of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on the matter. CCI, from the submission of Trai, noted that as per Interconnection Usage Charges (IUC) Regulations, the regulator has prescribed the ITC for international incoming calls but international settlement charge (ISC) is not regulated under the norms and has to be decided based on mutual negotiations between the Indian long distance operators and foreign service providers. The complainant has "mistaken International Termination Charges i.e. ITC as International Settlement Charge i.e. ISC", CCI noted. CCI, while disposing of the complaint, said "the Commission has prima facie not found any evidence to indicate that OPs have fixed the rates through any concerted action amongst themselves, so as to warrant an investigation." SRS ABM

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