Why #BoycottJio is trending on Twitter? Users threaten to switch from Reliance jio

New Delhi, Oct 10: Hours after Reliance Jio announced that it will charge customers 6 paise per minute for voice calls made to Airtel or Vodafone-Idea number, #BoycottJio started trending on Twitter. This came as a shock to all Jio subscribers because Mukesh Ambani, since its launch of Jio, has maintained that voice calls will always be free.

Earlier on Wednesday, Jio said that it will start charging its customers for outgoing calls made to rival networks at 6 paise a minute, but will compensate them by giving free data of equal value. This is been done to recover the interconnect usage charge (IUC) applicable on calls made to other networks, also known as off-net calls.

Based on the quantum of such calls made from Jio's network to Airtel, Vodafone Idea and the state-run mobile networks in the June quarter, analysts estimate a quarterly revenue bump of about ₹1800 crore for Jio.

These charges are not applicable on calls made by Jio users to other Jio phones and to landline phones and calls made using WhatsApp, FaceTime and other such platforms. However, incoming calls from all networks will continue to be free.

Since voice calls on Jio network are free, the company had to bear the Rs 13,500 crore payment made to rivals such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. To recover the losses created by the TRAI move, the company has decided to charge customers 6 paise per minute for every call they make to a rival's network.

This will be the first time that Jio users will pay for voice calls. Currently, Jio charges only for data, and voice calls to anywhere in the country and to any network are free.

Meanwhile, this didn't go well with the netizens and in no time scores of memes too, made their way to Twitter mocking Ambani and Jio for the announcement and the backlash that followed.

Check out some of the tweets on #BoycottJio that started trending on Twitter since morning.