Mumbai: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or TRAI has given clean chit to Dhan Dhana Dhan, a three months data and voice call plan for Rs 309 introduced by Reliance Jio after it had to withdraw Summer Surprise.
A report in Financial Express quoted TRAI as saying that Dhan Dhana Dhan offer was different from Jio's earlier scheme Summer Surprise that telecom authority had later found to be against regulatory framework. Jio was later asked to stop the plan.
“The Dhan Dhana Dhan offer is a clear tariff plan which offers subscribers 1 GB data a day for 84 days on a recharge of Rs 309," FE quoted a source as saying. Under the same scheme, Jio is also offering 2 GB data for Rs 509 for the same duration.
The report said that Dhan Dhana Dhan tariffs were "under forbearance" and telecom regulator TRAI does not interfere so long as schemes are not in violation of telecom rules.
The reason for TRAI stopping Summer Surprise was that the scheme was neither a tariff plan nor a promotional offer. It was a mix of both, which is not permissible under TRAI rules, the source added.
Reliance Jio launched its free 4G data and free voice call service in the form of Reliance Jio Welcome Offer on September 5 last year since then it has been mired in controversy with incumbent operators alleging violation of telecom rules.
Initially, Jio had launched free service Welcome Offer for a period of 90 days till December 31, 2016. It later extended the free service for another three months till March 31, 2017 under Happy New Year offer.
From April 1, Reliance Jio has started its first paid service Reliance Jio Prime. Under Prime, it offered Summer Surprise for three months at Rs 303 which was not in sync with rules and hence was stopped.
Then the Reliance Jio brought in Dhan Dhana Dha offer for its 72 million paid users. Presently, Reliance Jio has a total 108 million customers. The company has a target of adding another 100 million customers in a short time.
