Reliance Jio to make local voice calls free from January 1

Reliance Jio Infocomm will make domestic voice calls free from January 1, after the interconnect usage charges (IUC) on such services end in line with TRAI's (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) directions.

"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 1 January 2021. On-net domestic voice calls have always been free on the Jio network," the telco added.

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In September 2019, when TRAI extended the timeline for implementation of the Bill & Keep regime beyond 1st January 2020, Jio was left with no option but to start charging its customers for off-net voice calls, at a rate exactly equivalent to the applicable IUC charge.

While doing so, Jio had assured its users that this charge would continue only till the time TRAI abolished IUC charges.

Over the last year or so, Reliance Jio has been charging customers 6 paise per minute for voice calls made to rival phone networks but compensated subscribers by giving them free data of equal value.

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