Reliance Jio Announces Free Domestic Voice Calls To Other Networks From Jan 1 As IUC Regime Ends

Jio will once again make all off-net domestic voice calls free, starting 1 January 2021 and its on-net domestic voice calls have always been free on the Jio network.

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With the interconnect usage charges (IUC) regime for domestic voice calls coming to an end, Reliance Jio on Thursday said that all calls from its network to other networks anywhere in India will be free from January 1, 2021. As per the telecom regulator''s directions, ''Bill and Keep'' regime is being implemented in the country from January 1, 2021, thereby ending IUC charges for all domestic voice calls, the company said in a statement. "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. On-net domestic voice calls have always been free on the Jio network," it added. Put simply, off-net calls refer to calls that terminate in other networks. Over the last one year or so, Reliance Jio was charging customers 6 paise per minute for voice calls made to rival phone networks, but compensated subscribers by giving free data of equal value. In September 2019, when TRAI extended the timeline for implementation of the Bill & Keep regime beyond 1 January 2020, Jio was left with no option but to start charging its customers for offnet voice calls, at a rate exactly equivalent to the applicable IUC charge. As per the Mint report, Reliance Jio, which added overall 2.22 million new mobile customers, taking its total subscriber base to 406.3 million during October. In the wireline segment, Reliance Jio added the most subscribers at 2,45,912. It was followed by Bharti Airtel which added 48,397 fixed line connections, VIL with 9,400 subscriber addition and Quadrant which added 5,198 customers.