After months of testing, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani finally revealed all the details about Jio, including its tariffs and offers, at the annual general meeting on September 1. Now, the official data, voice and SMS plans are out and customers are already impressed by what they see.
Reliance Jio highlighted some of its biggest USPs to make a good sell, which is already working wonders. People are queuing outside Reliance stores to get the free Jio 4G SIM, which comes with an introductory offer of unlimited data, voice and SMS until December 31, 2016. The demand is outstripping supply and consumers are being served with a long waiting period.
Despite that, the queues outside Reliance Digital, Xpress and Xpress Mini stores aren't getting shorter. Clearly, the free unlimited offering of high-speed 4G data throughout this year has compelled smartphone owners to get the SIM card, which is also being distributed for free.
Once the welcome offer ends, the ultra-cheap tariffs starting at just Rs. 149 for 28 days kick in and offer of unlimited calls, 100 SMS and 300MB high-speed data. Higher the tariff you choose, more data gets added to your account, which also works out cheaper.
Reliance said it will be offering high-speed data at Rs. 50 per GB and gets as cheap as Rs. 25 per GB with higher consumption. If it sounds too good to be true, it's best to verify. Reliance Jio terms and conditions reveal a lot about the things that consumers will know only if they read the fine print.
We have listed the top 10 T&Cs that you should consider before buying Jio SIM:
- Voice calls are free, but the data consumed while video calls made on the Jio network will be deducted from your data-calling pack.
- There is a special section for Free Wi-Fi data benefit in all prepaid and postpaid plans. The allotment of data under Wi-Fi is through JioNet hotspots. Users must locate the Wi-Fi hotspots and access from the same location.
- Unlimited data during the night is valid only between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.
- Even though Jio apps are free for now, data used for these apps will be deducted from your data pack.
- Jio apps do not work on non-Jio networks. So if you have Airtel broadband at home or office, you'll need your mobile data to access Jio services, which will make a difference once users start paying for the service.
- Jio plans start at Rs. 19 and Rs. 129, but these denominations cannot be the first recharge by a new customer.
- Once the customer exhausts the allotted data, the charging rates applied thereafter is Rs. 250 per GB, which is pretty much the current standard and nothing close to Jio's Rs. 50 per GB promise.
- Postpaid users get unlimited data, but the speed gets down to 128Kbps once the allotted data is exhausted.
- Users get only 100 local and national SMS free per day and cost thereafter remains unknown.
- You cannot use Jio SIM as you will and not recharge it timely. Read this fine print for prepaid users below:
The account validity will be automatically extended however the mobile connection will be deactivated if there is no voice/video call (outgoing or incoming) or an outgoing SMS or a data session (upload or download) or usage of Value Added Services, for a continuous period of 90 days and in case the main account balance is less than Rs 20 at the discretion of RJIL. Upon deactivation, all account balances will be forfeited and a grace period of 15 days will be provided within which the subscriber can retain the deactivated number by paying a fee of Rs 20. If the subscriber's main account balance is Rs 20 or more, a number retention charge of Rs 20 will be automatically deducted and the non-usage period will be extended by 30 days."
For now, Jio's unlimited data and voice offer is truly generous and comes with no strings attached. If you own a Jio SIM card, then you are in for a treat for the remaining months of this year.
