RJio may charge Rs 100 for data after free offer ends

Mumbai: Reliance Jio, telecom giant that disrupted Indian telecom market drastically, may charge Rs 100 for data usage after its free Happy New Year offer ends on March 31, 2017, The Economic Times reported.

However, Rs 100 for data plan still makes for a competition-killing tariff scheme that other telecom players may not be able to replicate in their entities

With the tweaked free offer most likely to continue till June 30, Jio users would not attract any charges for making voice calls.

The free offer has been kept afloat with an initial investment of around Rs 2 lakh crore. Jio that has oil and gas behemoth Reliance Industries as its parent invested another tranche of funds worth Rs 30,000 crore to enhance tower infrastructure to boost network.

The company grew faster than social networking giants including Facebook, WhatsApp and Skype within three months of its launch, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani had said in December last year while welcoming first three months’ free offer into new year 2017.

Jio attracted over 72 million subscribers in just four months of its launch, a number that Ambani wants to take to a 100 million in a very short period from now. "Jio has also enabled a free home delivery of its SIMs," Amabani had said.