Jio is no longer free, but Dhan Dhana Dhan offer still up for grabs
Is it true that Reliance Jio is disconnecting those who haven't recharged yet?
According to NDTV's Gadgets 360, for many Jio users who haven't recharged their Jio number so far, the process of disconnection has started for them.
After telecom regulator, TRAI, on April 6 asked Jio to stop its three-month complimentary offer, the Mukesh Ambani-owned telecom company had announced a new plan — Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan — that offered its Prime members 1GB of 4G data per day for 84 days at Rs 309.
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| Jio users still have the option to subscribe to Prime membership along with "Dhan Dhana Dhan" offer. |
Similarly by paying Rs 509, Jio Prime subscribers, according to the offer, would be able to avail 2GB of 4G data per day for the next 84 days. Both the offers, it had said at that time, come with unlimited domestic calling.
The offer, it said, was “limited to one recharge only and not available along with Jio Summer Surprise offer”.
At the time of the announcement, Jio had also stated that users need to subscribe to Jio Prime membership plan and buy either Rs 309/Rs 509 recharge by April 15 to "to avoid degradation and/or discontinuation of services".
The "Dhan Dhana Dhan" offer came within a week of the telecom regulator asking Jio to withdraw its "three-month complimentary" offer in “shortest possible time".
On April 10, Vodafone had approached the TRAI complaining that Jio was violating the telecom regulator's norms. “Reliance Jio is continuing with this offer held as not meeting regulatory norms, in the garb of configuration changes. For the past three days, it has been promoting and luring customers to quickly recharge to avail the benefits of a non-compliant offer and also asking its retailers to communicate the same,” Vodafone had said in its letter to TRAI.
Jio had, however, countered the charges saying the company had made it amply clear that the complimentary offer would be withdrawn as soon as operationally feasible, and that customers who subscribed prior to discontinuation of the offer, remain eligible.
According to NDTV's Gadgets 360, the process of discontinuation is not going to happen all at once. While some users have already received the message about the disconnection, for other users who have not recharged it will happen over the next couple of days.
Following Jio's "Dhan Dhana Dhan" offer, industry leaders such as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea too came up with counter-offers.
Airtel, for instance, launched a data pack that will last for 70 days at Rs 399. This new plan will be available for all current subscribers who will get get 1GB a day for the entire period. The users can also avail unlimited voice calling throughout the 70-day tenure. A smaller pack of Rs 299 will offer similar data benefits, but with unlimited calling only to other Airtel numbers.
Vodafone launched a Rs 352-data pack that offers 1 GB data for 56 days. This plan, however, is introductory and once the 56-day period is over, users will have to subscribe the offer every 28 days.
Idea too has launched a Rs 297-recharge pack that gives 1GB of data per day for 70 days. But users will get just 300 minutes of Idea-to-Idea calls per day or 1,200 minutes per week. They will be charged 30 paisa per minute once they exhaust the calling limit.
So, it finally means Jio is no longer free. But it will continue offering Jio Prime (and the Dhan Dhana Dhan offer) for the near future, according to the same Gadgets 360 report. Jio users still have the option to subscribe to Prime membership along with "Dhan Dhana Dhan" offer. They only have to visit a Jio store or the Jio website or MyJio app, and check for plans.
It also means there indeed is such a thing as free lunch, but for a limited period only.