The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is reportedly set to reject a challenge to its decision clearing Reliance Jio Infocomm’s strategy of offering free voice calls as a promotional offer.
Rival Indian operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular had challenged Trai’s decision with the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal, and arguing that calls can’t be priced at less than the mobile termination rate of 14 paise ($0.002) per minute.
According to the Economic Times, Trai is set to reject this claim on the grounds that the operators are already effectively pricing voice calls at lower than 14 paise per minute with their offers such as free night time calling or bundles with unlimited voice calls.
An unnamed senior official at the regulator told the publication that if such offers aren’t predatory, the operators are in no position to complain about Jio’s offer.
Jio burst onto the scene last year with a disruptive strategy of offering free voice and data for all subscribers during a six-month promotional period. The aggressive strategy has allowed the operator to sign up over 100 million new customers in under six months.
Despite petitions from rivals, Trai decided to allow Jio to continue its offer. Jio plans to start charging for data from Saturday but voice calls will remain free.