New Delhi: Telecom operators are leaving no stone unturned to take on the stiff competition from new entrant Reliance Jio.
In its bid to rival Reliance Jio's unlimited free outgoing as well as roaming offers, state owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has revised its Rs 399, Rs 799 postpaid plan.
Under the plan, BSNL is offering free outgoing roaming to the post-paid users. Dubbed the Ghar Wapsi plan, the offer has no daily FUP or monthly FUP limit.
Additionally, along with Rs 799 postpaid plan, BSNL is also offering unlimited calling to landline numbers. The plan also offers 60GB of data usage to pospaid subscribers.
Large operators have been flagging pressure on revenue and profitability, blaming the rock-bottom data tariffs and free offerings of newcomer Reliance Jio for deteriorating financial health of the sector.
While on one hand Reliance Jio accuses incumbent operators of milking the sector using borrowed money, older players like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea blame free voice and data offering by the Mukesh Ambani firm for bleeding the sector.
Notably, last month, Trai said it will impose financial disincentive of up to Rs 50 lakh per circle on operators if their service rates are found to be predatory in nature.
A tariff will be considered predatory if in a relevant market, a telecom operator with over 30 percent market share offers services at a price which is below the average variable cost, with a view to reducing competition or eliminating the competitors in the relevant market.
The regulator has also said that telecom operators will have to provide services to all subscribers availing the same tariff plan in a non-discriminatory manner.
