Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel – Not only are the two big names in the Indian telecom market, these two companies are also rivals. Both have repeatedly clashed and tried to outdo each other in various endeavors such as service delivery, subscriber growth, be it in the telecom sector or broadband services. But in this regard Jio has practically been ahead for a long time, whereas Airtel has occasionally shown its flaws. As the Mukesh Ambani-led telecom company announced a broadband backup plan, Airtel recently demanded to consider the matter. Even the second largest telecom company approached the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or TRAI against Jio and requested to block the plan or offer. But the proposal of Airtel did not really survive! According to a recent report by the Economic Times (ET), TRAI has given Jio a ‘clean chit’ on the offer.
Jio’s broadband backup plan gets green signal from govt
Airtel’s initial concern and complaint about Jio’s new broadband backup plan was that it would attract customers like a predator to the detriment of its own interests and create instability in its direct-to-home (DTH) services. However, Airtel’s claim has been dismissed by TRAI – recently Union Minister of State for Communications Debusingh Chouhan said in Parliament that the regulator did not find any problem with Reliance Jio’s new offer. So the company can implement that broadband backup plan.
What are the benefits of Jio Broadband Backup Plan?
A few weeks ago, Reliance Jio launched a very affordable broadband plan for certain categories of customers who cannot afford the recharge cost of around Rs 500 per month. The company is of the opinion that by doing this everyone will be able to enjoy their broadband connection. But with the confusion they started offering OTT benefits and live TV channel access benefits with this cheap plan. In fact in this situation other companies like Airtel to compete with Jio will naturally have to take price cutting steps, and that is annoying enough for them.
However, TRAI has confirmed that Jio is not doing anything illegal through its plans. And interestingly, right after Jio launched its broadband backup plan, Airtel itself launched a ‘super affordable’ broadband plan; Its price is also similar to Jio’s plans.
