Offering five times more free outgoing calls than rivals: Jio

The Mukesh Ambani-led telecom operator added that its new plan are offering up to 25 per cent more value than that of rivals.

Reaction from Reliance Jio came after Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea removed cap on outgoing calls limit outside their network with effect from December 6, the day Reliance Jio rolled out mobile call and data plans priced up to 40 per cent compared to previous offerings.

“Entitlement for off-net calls in Jio’s ‘All in One Plans’ is more than 5 times of what an average customer uses as per industry data and consequently, an average Jio customer is unlikely to have to ever pay for off net calls. We reiterate that Jio plans offer up to 25 per cent higher value than comparable plans of other operators,” Reliance Jio said in a statement.

The company is offering 1,000 minutes per month (28-day cycle) of free calling every monthacross all plans.

Both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea earlier capped outgoing calls to other networks at 1,000 minutes in plan with 28-days validity, 3,000 minutes in 84-day validity and 12,000 in 365 days’ validity plan. Beyond this limit, customers were required to pay 6 paise per minute for outgoing calls made to other networks. “We heard you! And we are making the change. From tomorrow, enjoy unlimited calling to any network in India with all our unlimited plans. No conditions apply,” Bharti Airtel said in a tweet.

Vodafone Idea also made similar announcement on Twitter. “Here are unlimited possibilities with free unlimited calling, even to other networks,” Vodafone Idea tweeted with note that the changes are effective from December 6onward.

Both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have raised their mobile calls and internet plan prices by up to 50 per cent fromDecember 3.