Reliance Jio Summer Surprise offer withdrawal: Change.org petition for affordable net gets close to 75,000 signatures

New Delhi: Two days after telecom regulator Trai ordered Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio to withdraw the three-month 'complimentary' offer, an online petition asking for the restoration of affordable internet has gone viral on social media.

At the time of filing the story, the petition got 74,703 signatures and was only short of 297 more signatures to reach 75,000.

Amit Bhawani, a Hyderabad-based techie has  filed a petition on Change.org. He wrote , “Sir, Today is a black day for Digital India. The Indian consumers who with your support, once fought and won the battle for Net Neutrality; Today are on the verge of losing out on affordable access to the Internet.”

“Sir, I am a Techie, who has stood for the dream of Digital India throughout my career. In the last year, we have experienced a sea of change in the number of Indians logging on and using the Internet actively. There is a huge change in the data consumption patterns, from 1GB/month to an astonishing 30GB/month. World’s biggest companies like Facebook and YouTube have acknowledged this exponential rise of Indian data usage on their platforms,” the petitioner wrote.

“Sir, TRAI, which is supposed to be a pro-consumer body disappointed me today; Instead of protecting the scheme that gave a chance to a common man to access Internet at a cost of less than Rs 5/GB, decided to shut the Jio Summer Surprise Offer and has set a precedence that will prevent the consumer from getting affordable data forever,” he further wrote.

Trai has asked Reliance Jio to withdraw its Summer Surprise Offer that gives customers unlimited data usage and free calls on payment of a minimum Rs 303.

Reliance Jio said it accepts Trai's decision and is in the process of "fully complying" with the regulator's advice.

"However, all customers who have subscribed to JIO SUMMER SURPRISE offer prior to its discontinuation will remain eligible for the offer," the company said in a statement.

On March 31, the company said all Prime members who subscribe to higher value plans (Rs 303 and above) will enjoy complimentary services for three months and that subscribers will only be charged for services from July. The company has said that the Prime offer will continue till April 15.

"Under JIO summer Surprise, all Jio Prime members making their first recharge payment of Rs 303 (or higher) plans got 3 months complimentary services in addition to the benefits of their purchased plan. Today, TRAI has advised Jio to withdraw the 3 months complimentary benefits of JIO SUMMER SURPRISE," Jio said.