"Reliance Jio has gone as far as to say that if the telecom companies don't follow the regulations, their license may be revoked"
Reliance Jio is firing all cylinders to make it clear to all the incumbent telcos that it's ready for a slugfest, if need be. At its official launch event, CMD Mukesh Ambani called out the current operators to offer a level-playing field for the company and take care of the call drops issue. While Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea did release more POI (points of interconnection) to fix the problem, Jio issued a statement saying it hopes that they meet the regulatory standards on an ongoing basis.
With the tempting tariff plans (Read: Reliance Jio vs Airtel vs Vodafone vs Idea tariffs), it's easy to understand why many consumers would be wanting to switch to Reliance Jio. However, in the latest brawl between Reliance Jio and rival telecom companies, the former has reached out to TRAI, as the latter aren't adhering to MNP (mobile number portability) norms. This means users aren't able to switch from their current number to Jio's network. According to RJIL (Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited), rival operators are blocking MNP requests from consumers for baseless and unsubstantiated reasons. It has sought TRAI's help in the matter, as the incumbents are flouting the obligations under the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulations, 2009 ("MNP Regulations").
Related read: 7 ways Reliance Jio could disrupt the Indian telecom industry
Reliance Jio has gone so far as to say that if the telecom companies don't follow the regulations, their license may be revoked. In a letter addressed to TRAI's chairman RS Sharma on September 14th, it has mentioned "Considering that this is a clear and deliberate breach of the license conditions, TRAI must direct incumbent dominant operators to comply with their license terms and obligations ... failing which it should recommend cancellation of the respective licenses at the earliest."
Citing examples in its letter, Jio has stated that Airtel received 83 MNP requests, followed by Idea and Vodafone, which got 62 and 56 requests respectively for switching to Jio. However, none of them have been honoured by these companies.
This is just the latest tussle between the newest telecom company on the block and the stalwarts, but we're sure it's not the last. Did you try porting out to Reliance Jio? Were you successful or not? Let us know in the comments below.
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