Reliance Jio offer case: Telecom tribunal defers hearing to April 20

On January 31, TRAI had held that Jio’s free voice calling and data plan were not in violation of the regulatory guidelines. TRAI had further said its examination had revealed that the ‘Happy New Year Offer’ launched by Jio on December 4, 2016, is distinct from its earlier Jio Welcome Offer and could not be treated as an extension of the promotional offer as the benefits under both differed.

Telecom players have called Reliance Jio’s free data offering a predatory. Reliance Jio has recently been forced to withdraw its ‘Summer Surprise’ offer, which it launched on March 31. Under this offer, Jio was offering users another three months of free data, but this was applicable only to those users who had paid Rs 99 for Jio Prime membership and got a recharge of Rs 303 or higher.

Reliance Jio has withdrawn the offer, but customers who had claimed the deal will still get the three months of free service, which includes 4G data, voice calls, etc.

According to a TRAI statement, Reliance Jio’s Summer Surprise offer was not in sync with regulatory framework.  “We examined it and found that it was not in accordance with regulatory framework, so we advised them to stop it,” Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Chairman R S Sharma told PTI.

With PTI inputs