Reliance Jio to make domestic voice calls free from January 1

Reliance Jio Infocomm will once again make off-net domestic voice calls free from January 1, after interconnect usage charges (IUC) on such services ends.

“Honouring its commitment to revert off-net domestic voice-call charges to zero, as soon as IUC charges are abolished, Jio will once again make all off-net domestic voice calls free, starting 1st January 2021,” the company said.

On-net domestic voice calls have always been free on the Jio network, the company clarified. Off-net domestic voice calls from Jio to any network, anywhere in the country, will be free from January 1, 2021. Currently, customers are being charged for off-net voice calls due to the IUC regime.

In September 2019, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) extended implementation of IUC on mobile-to-mobile calls beyond January 1, 2020, after which Jio began charging its customers for off-net voice calls, at a rate exactly equivalent to the applicable IUC charge.

The company said it had assured users that the charges would be in effect only until the telecom regulator abolishes IUC. “Jio stands firm on its commitment to make the common Indian the beneficiary of advanced technologies like VoLTE,” the company said.

Shares of Bharti Airtel fell almost 2 percent in intraday trade on BSE after Jio’s announcement.