Reliance Jio is forcing telecom players to tweak their plans; Airtel may drop roaming charges

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio is giving top telecom players a tough time who are sweating it out to retain their loyal customers.

In the latest development, Airtel is considering to drop its roaming charges on voice and data as Jio has assured free voice calls for life.

In a bid to survive the pricing war, Airtel may not charge any premium on roaming.

"The company is all set to offer free incoming calls/ SMSes on national roaming and there will be no premium on outgoing calls,” a person told ET, adding that there will be no additional data charges on national roaming.

Airtel will also simplify its international plans for the ease of consumers.

Apart from Jio, Airtel is facing a potential threat from Idea-Vodafone merger as well.

Airtel’s move also comes after Vodafone dropped charges on incoming calls while on roaming. However, roaming charges on outgoing calls or on data usage continue to apply to its customers.

The telecom players, apart from losing customers, are also facing the risk of lowering revenues.

Bharti reported a 55% plunge in net profit in the December quarter, its worst in four years, on a first-time drop in revenue, while Idea posted its first ever net loss since listing in 2007.