Reliance has just waged a war in the telecom sector that it is most likely to win. Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's 45-minute speech had a major impact on India's telecom sector, slamming shares of top rivals Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications on Thursday. The disruptive data tariffs, free voice calls and nationwide free roaming marks a beginning of a new era.
Reliance Jio's commercial launch is set for December 31, and until then all data, voice and SMS services will be offered for free to all mobile consumers. The company aims to cover 90 per cent of India's population under its Jio network by March 2017.
In his speech, Ambani declared a price war by offering the world's cheapest data tariffs costing as low as Rs. 25/Rs 50 per GB depending on user's consumption. These data plans are up to 10 times cheaper than the incumbent telecom operators, which have set the industry standard at about Rs. 250 per GB.
If you missed Ambani's speech from the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, we bring you the top highlights that pretty much sum up the Jio-related announcements.
Jio Tariffs
Reliance Jio announced different packages for different users. The base tariff starts at Rs. 149, which includes 300MB data, 100 SMS and access to Jio premium apps for free. If your data consumption is higher, then Reliance Jio offers 75GB 4G data along with free calls, SMS, and 150GB JioNet Wi-Fi Hotspot access for Rs. 4,999 for 28 days. Ambani said that there will be small packages starting from Rs. 19 for occasional data users.
Unlimited calls
Reliance Jio is probably the first mobile carrier to put an end to voice call charges. Customers will no longer pay for voice calls as Ambani said that users must be charged either for voice or data, not both.
Free nationwide roaming
Subscribers on Jio's network will not be charged extra for roaming outside home network. Nationwide roaming on Jio's network has been made free for life.
Jio for one and all
If you are disappointed that Jio Preview Offer is not available on your smartphone, fret not. Days are not far for you to get a Jio 4G SIM for free and enjoy unlimited data, calls, SMS and Jio apps until December 31.
Jio suite is sweet and free
The complete suite of Jio premium services such as JioOnDemand, JioNet, JioPlay and more will be offered for free for all Jio subscribers till December 31. This is a total worth of Rs. 15,000 and completely worth it.
Students are in for a treat
Youth is the future of our country and Ambani is doing his bit to make sure that they are on top of their game. If you are a student and wish to get Jio, then you get 25 per cent more data on Jio's main tariffs. Add that to the perks of being young and educated.
eKYC
Digitalisation is not complete without making everything online, including Jio SIM activations. Reliance Jio connections can soon be activated in a matter of minutes with e-KYC, which allows users to walk out of a Reliance store with a working Jio SIM card.
Cheaper means to access Jio
Reliance is making sure that mobile users get access to its Jio services without breaking their bank. Hence, the company is offering LYF smartphones starting as low as Rs. 3,000 and also hotspot devices such as JioFi for just Rs. 2,000.
