Top News

Trai on jio and airtel: India’s Telecom Regulatory Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to clarify why they shut down their cheapest 1GB daily data entry-level mobile plans. According to the information, people of low income group used to meet their basic internet needs on these cheap packs.

Dot’s eye, report from TRAI summoned

According to sources, the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) has also asked TRAI to review the case and report. “TRAI is a regulator and has full power to intervene if necessary to protect the interests of consumers,” said an official.

Companies’ side

Jio said in its reply that it has replied some packs on the basis of market analysis and now they are available only on offline stores.

Aritel discontinued the plan of ₹ 249 from August 20. The company says that this decision was taken in view of giving more value to customers and market needs. Airtel said, “The new plan of ₹ 299 comes with more validity and better offering, which is economical for consumers.”

Why ₹ 249 plan removed

According to the August 19 report, both companies removed the 1GB daily data plan of ₹ 249 from their website. Jio’s plan used to come with 28 days and Airtel’s 24 days validity. Analysts believe that this step is a strategy to increase average revenue (ARPU). According to JM Financial, this change can increase Jio’s ARPU 6-7% and Airtel’s 4-4.5%.

Consumers concern

According to the new rates, Airtel is giving 1GB/day data for 28 days in ₹ 299. Jio is offering 1.5GB/day data in ₹ 299. However, this change has affected the pockets of rural and lower income group users. The MP from Karnataka has mentioned the problems of farmers in a letter to Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Tariff status in India

According to UBS Research, entry-level telecom plan in India is 1.24% of GDP per capita, which is expensive than markets such as Thailand, Malaysia, China and Indonesia. Despite this, India is still counted among the world’s cheapest data. Scindia told Parliament in February that the price of data in 2014 was ₹ 270 per GB, which has now come down to only ₹ 9.70 per GB.

What next?

Experts believe that removal of entry-level plan reflects the price of companies and can open 5G data in the coming 1-2 years.