Due to the Interconnect usage charge i.e. IUC, Jio has decided to end the off-net free calling on 9 October. In such a situation, when the burden of the IUC came on the part of the customers, they supported the Jio and sought a solution from TRAI as soon as possible. Jio customers have filed an online petition to convey their demand to TRAI.
In fact, in 2017, IUC charge was fixed at 6 paise per minute by TRAI and it was said that it will be abolished by 1 January 2020. Because of this, Jio made calling free. But recently TRAI has sought a consultation paper related to IUC for review and it is likely that its duration can be extended. In such a situation, it is not clear how long the IUC charges will end and due to this the pressure on Jio started increasing and the company has decided to stop off-net free calling. Also, Jio has also said that IUC will make calling again once the charges are over.
On the other hand, Vodafone-Idea and Airtel have made it clear that they will continue off-net free calling in unlimited plans for customers. Whereas Jio announced on October 9 that now customers will have to pay 6 paise per minute for making calls from Jio’s network to other networks. Meanwhile, when the burden of IUC charge came on the customers, they have filed an online petition to convey their demand to TRAI. According to the information received, so far more than 10 thousand customers have supported TRAI and demanded an early decision on IUC from TRAI.
Reliance Jio says that the company was offering free calling from its inception, but for this, it has to pay a heavy price. The reasons which are coming out are being told that the tariff plans for the lower middle class of Airtel and Vodafone-Idea have higher calling rates. Most of these customers are connected to 2G network and who use mobile especially for calling. In such a situation, these customers give missed calls to customers of Jio to save money, and when Jio’s customers call in another network, the company has to pay 6 paise per minute.
