During the launch of Airtel Payments Bank, Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal reportedly blamed Reliance Jio for creating an ‘unfair competition’ in the Indian telecom market, according to a report by Financial Express.
According to Mr. Mittal, the services that are priced too low or free are always difficult to compete with. Also, there should be at least four to five companies in the market for competition. Airtel has filed a complaint against Reliance Jio before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), pointing out that the New Year Offer of Jio is unfair and illegal. Under the New Year Offer, Jio has extended the free offer till March 2017. Airtel has also blamed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for allowing this action of Reliance Jio.
Mr. Mittal, however, feels that the competition has not created much impact on Airtel. The service provider claims to have a good reach across the country. Meanwhile, as a means to counteract Reliance Jio’s free offer, Airtel has introduced one year free data for subscribers switching to Airtel 4G. Every customer newly switching to Airtel 4G can avail 3GB per month for 12 months. The offer starts on January 4 and extends till February 28. This offer is open to all subscribers across India.
Also Read: Reliance Jio is making a data friendly move with this new feature in JioMusic app
Otherwise, for prepaid subscribers, Airtel offers 1 GB of 4G data and unlimited calls to any network across India for Rs. 345. Airtel’s Payments Bank went live yesterday, where the provider has started offering banking services to the people. People can deposit, withdraw, or transfer money using Airtel Bank.
The service is completely free of papers that the interested customers can open an account using their Aadhaar number. Located in places including the rural sectors, Airtel Payments Bank has announced some attractive offers to lure the customers. For the service, it has collaborated with Kotak Mahindra Bank.
