Speaking on the sidelines of a Nasscom event this week, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has claimed that Reliance Jio is closing in on getting its targeted 100 million customers on the network. If and when that happens, Ambani and Co would confidently feel that the slew of free internet offers, along with free voice calls for a lifetime, have worked to great effect.
But things could take a nosedive very soon, as the freebies from Jio 4G will finally come to a halt in end March.
Now, we’ve heard about reports that suggest Rs 100 Jio 4G plans will be announced soon, to lessen the burden created by free loaders, which we at The Quint feel could be a smart and sensible move.
Having said that, the word ‘free’ in India has its own charm, and no amount of generosity will change that. So, will Jio relax after fulfilling its big mission, or is this just a start? As a user, here’s what you can expect from Jio in the coming months.
New Plans Coming Soon?
The ongoing Jio Happy New Year offer lapses on 31 March, 2017 which is only a month away now. Users on Jio have been spoilt with free data usage for over 9 months now, and asking them to pay for plans that were announced in December will never work out.
The only way Jio can prevent putting off customers is by rolling out a new set of plans, that may not be as affordable as Rs 100, but will still be lower than the competition.
Things aren’t the same anymore with Airtel, Vodafone and Idea. All telcos have revised their respective data plans, offering 3GB data for Rs 250, which only gave you 1GB earlier. All this suggests that a Jio event announcing new plans is imminent, and let’s hope Jio is listening.
New Kind of Partnerships
You might argue that with Jio Cinema, Music and Chat, the content side of their business is well covered for 2017. Netflix and Amazon Prime Videos can be ranked as competition for the services that Jio offers, but given their user base, Jio could definitely profit by tapping into these brands.
Access to hit series like Stranger Things and Crown could help Jio attract consumers who don’t mind paying for content. That’d be some jodi.
Get the Free Loaders Off, Let the Calling Begin
Jio’s dependence on 4G VoLTE for calling and data has its own drawbacks. And with free data on offer right now, users on Jio still find it hard to connect with its telco peers.
According to a recent Truecaller report, users on Jio hog the data, but not so much on the calls, even though it’s free. Getting rid of freeloaders from its network could finally unleash the supposed 4G VoLTE calling prowess that Jio boasts of.
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