Reliance Jio, the largest wireless operator in India on Thursday said that it will “once again make all off-net domestic voice calls free” from January 1, 2021. The operator in a release said that it is “honouring its commitment” to reverse its off-net domestic voice call charges to zero “as soon as” interconnect usage charges (IUC) are “abolished.” Reliance Jio in the release highlighted that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in September 2019, “extended the timeline for implementation of the Bill and Keep regime” beyond January 1, 2020. The operator said that the decision by Trai left it with “no option but to start charging” its users for off-net voice calls.
Reliance Jio Set to Offer Domestic Voice Calls for No Additional Charge
The operator said that it was charging domestic voice calls to non-Jio numbers “at a rate exactly equivalent to the applicable IUC charge.” With the Bill and Keep regime set to be implemented from January 1, 2021, Jio said that the domestic calls from Jio numbers to other networks “will be free.”
“Jio had assured its users that this charge would continue only till the time Trai abolished IUC charges,” Reliance Jio said in a release on Thursday. “Today, Jio has delivered on that promise and made off-net voice calls free again.”
The operator also said that its decision will result in the “majority of smartphone users” across the country “enjoying free voice calls” from January 1, 2021.
“Jio is committed to lay the foundation of a digital society – a society where everything, everyone, everywhere is connected with the best quality service, at the lowest price globally, and has access to the most advanced digital platforms,” Reliance Jio said in a release on Thursday.
Reliance Jio “Committed to Serving” Users Across India
It has to be noted that the operator is currently charging its users six paisa per minute for domestic calls to numbers on rival networks.
“Jio stands firm on its commitment to make the common Indian the beneficiary of advanced technologies like VoLTE,” Reliance Jio said in a release on Thursday. “Jio is a customer-obsessed organization and cares for every single user. All our users enjoy free voice calls with Jio.”
