Reliance Jio's free service is not a violation: TRAI

Amidst the ongoing tussle against TRAI by telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Idea cellular, TRAI gave a clean chit stating Jio's new year offer not an extension, rather different than the welcome offer.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has informed that the the scheme offered by Reliance Jio is not in violation of regulatory guidelines on promotional offers. It further said that the Happy New Year offer has an opening and closing date as within the prescribed 90 days and the offer conditions are also different from the the initial welcome offer proposed while launching Reliance Jio. 

India's major telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Idea cellular went to telecom disputes settlement and appellate tribunal (TDSAT) against TRAI for allowing Jio to extend its free services till March. They referred this as a violation of regulatory guidelines. Reportedly, Reliance Jio is approaching towards gaining the highest market shares of telecom industry on the back of such surprising offers, which will further get a boost after this clearance. 

Telecom operators like Airtel, Idea, Vodafone are hugely impacted by this blockbuster launch of Reliance Jio and they are also trying to match up with the new comer with new measures. The bourses have also witnessed another big news of telecom operator Idea and Vodafone merging during the last week. Reacting to this, the shares of Idea cellular has already gained about 40 per cent till Friday. Investors should keep a close tab on this segment, as any announcement from any of these companies will have impact on their rivals as well.