Now Bharti Airtel Challenges Reliance Jio’s Summer Surprise Offer

Bharti Airtel Ltd. moved the telecom tribunal to prevent subscribers from availing the benefits of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.'s Summer Surprise Offer as it was an “illegal” scheme, a person privy to the matter told BloombergQuint on the condition to anonymity.

The incumbent operator on Thursday challenged Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.'s recently withdrawn Summer Surprise Offer before the telecom tribunal, the person quoted above said.

The Sunil Bharti Mittal-led company questioned the timing of the offer in its petition to the Telecom Disputes and Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), adding that it should have been discontinued immediately, the person said.

Both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel refused to comment on the story since the matter is sub-judice.

Under the Summer Surprise offer, existing subscribers or new customers could become Prime members by paying Rs 99 and then avail its benefits by buying a Rs 303 recharge till April 15. Reliance Jio, however, withdrew the offer following an advisory by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Following this advisory, Reliance Jio also faced criticism from Vodafone which wrote to the telecom regulator alleging that the country's newest operator was luring customers to avail the benefits of the offer, in “blatant violation” of the spirit of TRAI's advisory.

Reliance Jio, which has more than 72 million Prime customers currently, has given tough competition to incumbent operators like Bharti, Vodafone, and Idea Cellular Ltd. by offering free services for six months till March 31 this year. Rivals have been forced to cut prices to retain subscribers, and approached the TRAI and TDSAT multiple times against its promotional offers.

Also Read: Reliance Jio's New Offer After Summer Surprise Setback