Reliance Claims Zero Jio-To-Jio Call Drops Even As War Of Words With Airtel Continues
Consumers will continue to suffer poor connectivity because of Airtel, says Reliance.
Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. said on Sunday, that while it “welcomes” Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s gesture of providing more points of interconnection (POI) for Jio, it is nowhere near enough.
The number of POIs put in place by Airtel are less than one-fourth compared to the number of POIs proposed during bilateral discussions between the two companies, Reliance Infocomm said in a press release.
Reliance went on to highlight the need for better quality of service (QoS), claiming that more than two crore calls fail between the two networks on a daily basis.
It is unfortunate that TRAI’s intervention was required for Airtel to resume augmentation of POIs, which it ought to have done by itself in compliance with its license terms.Reliance Jio Infocomm (Source: Press Release)
Reliance also said that Airtel insists on establishing one-way electronic carriers (E1s) as opposed to two-way carriers which will hinder Reliance Jio’s ability to utilize it.
“It is apparent that Airtel continues to abuse its market dominance by imposing onerous conditions which will imminently hinder RJIL’s ability to efficiently utilize the additional E1s... Inspite of above, RJIL shall continue to work with Airtel and all the other incumbent operators to resolve this issue at the earliest and ensure that Indian customers get best-in-class services.” the press release added.
Another example of Airtel’s anti-competitive behaviour is its move to block the mobile number portability services for subscribers who wish to port to Jio on “baseless and unsubstantiated grounds”, the press release said.
In response, Bharti Airtel said that it “categorically denies” the statements made by Jio. Airtel alleged that Jio’s statements are intended to cover up technical issues in its own network which is causing call failures.
With the latest augmentation, the total number of POIs provided will become three times the present number of POIs. This capacity will be sufficient to serve over 15 million customers, which is much more than their present subscriber base and their demand for 10 million projected customers.Bharti Airtel (Source: Press Release)
Airtel added that the additional POIs now need to be physically connected and tested by both parties.
“We have already requested Jio’s cooperation in this regard. Airtel’s network teams across circles are ready and waiting for Jio to commence the testing. However, it is Jio that seems to be dilly-dallying on the issue and not cooperating deliberately.”
Late on Sunday night, Reliance Jio criticised Bharti Airtel once again, saying that while there are two crore calls dropping between the two networks on a daily basis, there are no incidents of call failures within the Jio network.
We also invite independent third parties such as TERM (DOT) to inspect and confirm that there are zero call failures on Jio network.Reliance Jio Infocomm (Source: Press Release)
Reliance went on to say that Airtel’s statements from Sunday were “unfortunate and misleading” and that Jio customers should encourage others to switch to their network to avoid anti-competitive practices.
Jio, being the aggrieved party as everyone is well aware, is doing its best to work with all the other operators to resolve this issue at the earliest. There is no question of delay, not even of a few hours, in taking any steps at Jio’s endReliance Jio Infocomm (Source: Press Release)
Reliance once again accused Airtel of deliberately blocking the mobile number portability facility for customers wishing to switch to Jio.