ISD wars begin: Jio now lets you make international calls at Rs 3/minute

After 'almost' eliminating incoming internet data, roaming charges, incoming and outgoing call charges, Reliance Jio has once again reared it head to offer international calls at prices as low as Rs 3 per minute through its new "rate-cutter plan", a move that is sure to give another nightmare to its rivals.

While Reliance Jio is no longer free, the telecom major is till now putting on a customer friendly face. April 15 was the last day to sign up for Jio Prime by paying Rs 99 plus another Rs 309 or Rs 509 for the first recharge. The Indian Express reports the Jio will start disconnecting services for those who have not gotten the Prime membership or gotten a recharge till now.

Jio's international call offers

Gone are the days when people had to pay through the roof for international calling charges. While WhatsApp and other social networking sites had already shared customers' burden of expenses through internet voice calls, Jio has broken barriers further down. According to the Reliance Jio website, the new "rate-cutter plan" Jim can be activated by recharging for Rs 501.

Here is what Jio is offering:
 

* International calls at prices as low as Rs 3 per minute
 

* Voice calls to US, UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan just Rs 3 per minute.
 

* Calls to countries like France, Pakistan, Israel, Japan, Argentina, Denmark and South Korea can be made at Rs 4.8 per minute

Check out details here 

Telecos struggle with fight back

While Bharti Airtel claims to be offering best international roaming rates to its travelling customers, Reliance Jio sops will give the telecom industry another nightmare.

An Airtel customer is traveling to Singapore and hasn’t activated any pack. For this destination, Airtel's daily pack costs Rs 499, and includes unlimited incoming calls, free data, SMS and calls to India. If daily usage exceeds Rs 499, Airtel will automatically activate the Rs 499 pack at no added cost.

The news of this decision may prove to be another shock for India's top three telcos - Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, denting both their customer base and revenue.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Vodafone India announced that its subscribers can enjoy roaming free data services even while abroad.

Meanwhile, analysts who track telecom industry say that the industry is going through a tough time while the customers are the real beneficiaries of the ongoing battles within the telecom industry.

COUNTRY CODES WITH SPECIAL RATES
Rate-cutter for top countries (on following codes)
Country	ILD rate cutter(Rs/min)
Bangladesh	3
UAE	13
Canada	3
USA	3
Nepal	13
Saudi Arabia	12
Kuwait	9.6
Malaysia	4.8
Singapore	3
Australia	7.2
New Zealand	3
Bahrain	13.8
China	5
France	4.8
Germany	7.2
Nigeria	8
Pakistan	4.8
Thailand	7.2
United Kingdom	3
Japan	4.8
HONG KONG	3
American Samoa	5
Andorra	3
Angola	7.2
Argentina	4.8
Austria	3
Belgium	3
Bermuda	5
Brazil	3
Brunei	4.8
Bulgaria	7.2
Colombia	4.8
Denmark	4.8
Finland	7.2
French Guiana	3
Greece	7.2
Hungary	3
Ireland	7.2
Israel	4.8
Italy	3
Luxembourg	3
Malta	3
Mexico	5
Mongolia	3
Morocco	3
Netherlands	7.2
Paraguay	4.8
Peru	3
Poland	3
Portugal	3
Puerto Rico	3
Romania	3
RUSSIA	7.2
South Africa	7.2
South Korea	4.8
Spain	3
Sweden	3
Switzerland	3
Taiwan	3
Turkey	7.2
U.S. Virgin Islands	3