Reliance Jio did many first in the Indian telecom industry, such as making 4G data affordable, and voice calls free for life, but it now took a page from Airtel's offer book and made it better. Just a few days after Airtel launched its new international roaming plan, the new telco launched its own plan for international calls.
Instead of focusing on the roaming bit, Jio made it cheaper for people living in India to call abroad at an affordable price. Reliance Jio's new "rate-cutter plan" for international calls can be activated with a recharge of Rs. 501, which will then reduce call charges to international destinations drastically.
Depending on where you are calling, the call rates will be reduced accordingly. You can check out the ISD tariffs here (PDF), and the discounted tariffs after activating the rate cutter plan are given below for all countries:
Countries such as the U.S., Canada, Bangladesh, Singapore, New Zealand, U.K, Hong Kong, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, French Guiana, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Mongolia, Morocco, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and U.S. Virgin Islands for Rs. 3 per minute.
Other country tariffs are given below:
| Country | Call rates with rate cutter (Rs/min) |
| UAE | Rs. 13 |
| Nepal | Rs. 13 |
| Saudi Arabia | Rs. 12 |
| Kuwait | Rs. 9.6 |
| Malaysia | Rs. 4.8 |
| Australia | Rs. 7.2 |
| Bahrain | Rs. 13.8 |
| China | Rs. 5 |
| France | Rs. 4.8 |
| Germany | Rs. 7.2 |
| Nigeria | Rs. 8 |
| Pakistan | Rs. 4.8 |
| Thailand | Rs. 7.2 |
| Japan | Rs. 4.8 |
| American Samoa | Rs. 5 |
| Angola | Rs. 7.2 |
| Argentina | Rs. 4.8 |
| Bermuda | Rs. 5 |
| Brunei | Rs. 4.8 |
| Bulgaria | Rs. 7.2 |
| Colombia | Rs. 4.8 |
| Denmark | Rs. 4.8 |
| Finland | Rs. 7.2 |
| Greece | Rs. 7.2 |
| Ireland | Rs. 7.2 |
| Israel | Rs. 4.8 |
| Mexico | Rs. 5 |
| Netherlands | Rs. 7.2 |
| Paraguay | Rs. 4.8 |
| Russia | Rs. 7.2 |
| South Africa | Rs. 7.2 |
| South Korea | Rs. 4.8 |
| Turkey | Rs. 7.2 |
Reliance Jio's affordable 4G data offers make it less expensive to make international calls. There are plenty of apps for smartphones that can be used to make voice and video calls using your mobile data. Since Jio gives 1GB high-speed data per day, users can benefit from apps like WhatsApp, Skype, Imo and more to connect with friends and family abroad.
On the other hand, Airtel's new offer makes sense. As a part of its Holiday Surprises, Airtel is giving unlimited calls, free data, SMS and calls to India for Rs. 499. The offer is limited to postpaid users traveling to Singapore and they need not activate any plans before going abroad. With the current trend in the Indian telecom market, we won't be surprised to see telcos fighting over this new terrain.
