Reliance Jio stopping 3-month complimentary Summer Surprise offer: 5 things to know

Telecom regulator Trai has ordered Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio to withdraw a three-month ‘complimentary’ offer of unlimited data usage and free calls on payment of a minimum Rs 303.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Jio Summer Surprise offer cancelled in accordance with TRAI order
• You can still avail Jio Summer Surprise benefits
• Last date for Reliance Jio Prime subscriptions is still April 15

 

Advised by the telecom regulator, Reliance Jio on Thursday said it will withdraw the three months complimentary benefits of Jio Summer Surprise, “as soon as operationally feasible, over the next few days”.

“Today, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has advised Jio to withdraw the three months’ complimentary benefits of Jio Summer Surprise,” the company statement said.

“Jio accepts this decision. Jio is in the process of fully complying with the regulator’s advice, and will be withdrawing the three months complimentary benefits of Jio Summer Surprise as soon as operationally feasible, over the next few days,” the statement added.

Here are five things you need to know about Reliance Jio and its offer:

1) What is the offer?

On March 31, Jio announced its Jio Summer Surprise offer. Under this offer all Jio Prime members making their first recharge payment of Rs 303 (or higher) plans got three months’ complimentary services in addition to the benefits of their purchased plan.

The company on March 31 in a statement said: “Every Jio Prime member, when they make their first paid recharge prior to April 15 using Jio’s Rs 303 plan (or any higher value plan), will get services for the initial three months on a complimentary basis. The paid tariff plan will be applied only in July, after the expiry of the complimentary service.”

Looking at the unprecedented rush of subscription, the company had also extended the deadline to buy Jio’s Rs 303 (and other) plans till April 15.

2) Those who have offer already won’t be hit

All customers who have subscribed to the aforementioned offer prior to its discontinuation will remain eligible for the offer. Trai had previously found nothing wrong with its extended promotional offers of free data and voice that had helped Jio clock 100 million customers.

3) 72 million signed up for Jio Prime in one month

Reliance Jio had announced that in “just one month, over 72 million Jio customers have signed up for Jio Prime, making it one of the most successful customer privilege programmes anywhere in the world.”

With 72 million subscribers enrolling for prime membership till March 31, Reliance Jio will remain disruptive given its aspirations, investment banking firm Jefferies said in its recent report.

The newcomer in the industry has over 100 million customers.

4) Where it all began

The newcomer, Reliance Jio, had launched a free voice and data plan in September 2016 and had extended it till March 31, 2017.

Reliance Jio had launched the Welcome Offer on September 5, 2016, which was valid for 90 days with extended benefit till December 31, 2016. In December, Jio extended the freebies till March 31, 2017, much to the ire of other operators who alleged that such freebies not only hit their profitability and disrupted the market but were also against the regulations.

5) Trai says new quality norms for cellular services soon

Telecom regulator Trai has said it will bring out in the next few weeks its order on the revised quality of service norms for mobile services, including benchmarks for newer technologies like VoLTE.

“On quality of service norms and parameters, on how to redefine them, what should be the values, the granularity... should the call quality be measured at the level of service area, or towers, or district... on all those issues, we had held consultations and we will take a decision in a few weeks,” Trai chairman RS Sharma said.

Sharma, who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Ficci event, said the decision will come in the form of a regulation or order by Trai.