Reliance Jio makes all local voice calls free following TRAI's IUC abolishment

In Summary

In September last year, TRAI extended the deadline for implementation of the Bill & Keep (B&K) pricing regime.
Following the extension, Jio started charging its customers for off-net domestic voice calls to offset the losses it incurred due to IUC.
Now that TRAI has abolished the IUC charges, Jio is standing up to its commitment and is set to revoke the off-net domestic voice calling charges starting January 1, 2021.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has declared that it is implementing the Bill & Keep regime in the country from January 1, 2021. Following which, honoring its commitment, Reliance Jio is set to revert the off-net domestic charges for voice calls back to zero as soon as the new regime comes into play.

To give you some context, in September last year, TRAI extended the deadline for implementation of the Bill & Keep (B&K) pricing regime, which left Jio no other option but to start charging its customers for off-net voice calls to offset the losses incurred due to IUC. However, while the company announced that it will start charging customers for off-net calls, it also announced that these calling charges are only going to be applicable for the time being — until TRAI abolishes Interconnect Usage Charge (IUC). [In case you are unaware, IUC is the fee paid by one telecom operator to another when its customers make outgoing calls to the other operator’s customers.]

Now that TRAI has abolished the IUC charges, Jio is standing up to its commitment and is set to revoke the off-net domestic voice calling charges that its customers have been paying all this time. With the IUC regime for domestic voice calls coming to an end, all calls from Jio to any other network anywhere in India will be free — just like they used to be before the company started charging for off-net voice calls. Just to remind you, on-net domestic voice calls have always been free on the network and continue to be like that.

Jio says, “it 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. Through technological innovation, Jio will continue to deliver revolutionary products and services to its users, with a CUSTOMER-FIRST approach.”

To give you an idea of the company’s offering, Jio has the following (popular) recharge packs to offer: