The established telecom companies have always been worried about the entry of Reliance Jio as they feared it would start a price war and upset the cosy relationship they had established with each other on charges, etc. It was no surprise, therefore, that since Reliance Jio started testing its network from December, the industry body, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), has accused it of rolling out a full-fledged service in the guise of a pilot project. This does not hold water, as the Mukesh Ambani group does every thing on a huge scale.
So Reliance Jio has justified the pilot project, which covers 1.5 million people, as it has set a target to reach out to 100 million subscribers. Therefore, it needs to see whether its network is working robustly and is scalable while in the pilot mode. But the COAI says this is choking its network and is more incensed because Reliance Jio has kept the industry guessing about its pricing. However, the pricing is not required to be announced in the pilot stage. Trai, which has been caught in the crossfire, has been accused by the COAI of favouring Jio. But it has cleverly passed on the buck to the department of telecommunications saying it only gets involved if there is contravention of any regulations.
This development is good for the subscribers as they will be the ultimate beneficiaries of competition. Reliance Jio has the advantage of being a late entrant as it can avail of new technologies. Besides, it enters with a lot of financial power. There has long been a suspicion that telecom companies have been overcharging consumers and can certainly cut costs. Even while the quality of service has been unsatisfactory due to persistent call drops, they seem to be reluctant to compensate customers. With Reliance Jio joining the fray, existing operators will face a threat to their dominant position and will have to improve their efficiency and quality.
