Trai directs Jio, Airtel to clarify terms on unlimited 5G data offerings

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have both clarified that unlimited does not equate to infinity as data usage is restricted by speed and network

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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has asked Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to provide clear terms and conditions for their unlimited 5G data offerings, according to a report by The Economic Times (ET).

The matter came up when competitor Vodafone Idea filed a complaint against the two operators on "predatory pricing." The issue had first presented itself between the telcos in 2016, when Airtel and Vodafone had complained against Jio for charging below costs. Jio's promotional plan had also included free data for months at the time.

Trai dismissed Vodafone Idea's predatory pricing complaint against both operators, stating that the tariffs offered were not below costs. Officials also, reportedly, pointed out that Vodafone Idea itself was offering "unlimited" 4G data plans.

Trai, however, did direct Jio and Airtel to elaborate on the terms and conditions for their unlimited 5G data plans. Both telcos have complied and updated their terms & conditions, accordingly.

Airtel has now specified a fair usage policy for 5G unlimited data and stated that commercial usage is applicable beyond 300 GB in 30 days. Meanwhile, Jio mentioned factors affecting data usage and clarified that unlimited data doesn't mean infinity.

According to the ET report, currently, there are no rules that prevent telecom operators from offering "unlimited" plans. There is also no specific industry definition of "unlimited" to provide an exact range for how much data is offered under such plans. Therefore, telcos need to inform customers if the fair usage policy (FUP) is applicable or if there will be disruptions in internet speed after a certain amount of data has been used. This is especially important given that both Airtel and Jio confirmed with Trai that "unlimited" does not equate to "infinity" as data usage is restricted by speed and network.