Incumbent telecom operators cheer as Reliance Jio gets “paid” and announces tariffs

Cellular operators’ association COAI today expressed relief that newcomer Reliance Jio has announced “price points” for data services post April 1, which although “aggressive” will not bleed the industry. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said the pricing along with customer experience determined by a telecom network’s ability to take data traffic load will differentiate the winners from losers going forward.

“They have announced the pricing for the services, which is a good news for the industry, at least they have started charging … Our members will be giving their response but as an industry observer I can say that the industry will be relieved that price points have been announced. They are aggressive but not bad,” COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews told PTI.

Jio has announced that its existing subscribers and new customers who come on board by March 31, 2017, can continue to enjoy unlimited benefits of its ‘Happy New Year Offer’ for one more year (that is March 31, 2018) by paying one-time fee of Rs 99 and Rs 303 a month. “The Rs 99 plus Rs 303 is not a bad price point … if the ARPUs (Average Revenue Per User) can be brought to Rs 300 from the current Rs 180 …,” Mathews said.

In a speech broadcast live on the company’s social media accounts, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said Jio users had consumed more than 100 crore GB of data per month on the Jio network, which is more than 3.3 crore GB a day. The Jio carries nearly 5.5 crore hours of video daily on its network.

PTI

Disclaimer: Reliance Jio is owned by Reliance Industries, who also own Network18, the publisher of Firstpost and Tech2.

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