The Utterly Lovable Amul

The Utterly Lovable Amul

 - Tribute from a raving fan , Sandeep Bangia

This article was published by the Economic Times Brand Equity dt 5th August 2020

https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/marketing/opinion-the-utterly-lovable-amul/77342655

The lockdown times have tested the fortitude of individuals, of families, of relationships, of organizations and of also brands. We’ve seen iconic organizations and brands fall by the wayside and succumb to the crisis at the first sign of distress. This says a lot about the character of the organizations and the brand. One of my favorite brands however Amul has not just survived but has also outdone itself on all counts. Amidst the COVID related lockdown, Amul has truly stamped its place in the hall of fame yet again and has endeared itself to the fans in these tough times. The brand has consolidated its dominance in a crisis like COVID.

Amul competes with different brands across categories even within the diary and milk products sector – brands like Cadbury’s, Nestle, Mother Diary, HUL and other titans. Amul is a leader in almost all these categories and has nothing to prove in terms of mere numbers - revenue, volumes, market-share etc, it’s already there. It also leads the category in the softer aspects of the brand with its honest, trustworthy, value for money positioning. No wonder that Amul regularly features in the line-up of the Top 10 most trusted brands in India. The tagline ‘Taste of India’ is an amazing unifying factor for the brand in some sense invokes a feeling of patriotism. Amul has a simple value proposition – Great value for money and great quality. 

However, in challenging times like these, the brands’ resilience gets tested. So, once you have numbers in your bag and the consumers’ trust on your side, what do you do next - well you just cement your position to catapult yourself to the stratosphere. That’s a happy place where the only challenge to your position is your own limitation to growth and not another competitor. 

And how do you do this – Communicate with your customers to enhance your appeal, engage with your audience to connect beyond the transaction, demonstrate compassion to form powerful bonding with the stakeholders and innovate to stay ahead for the market to follow. Amul has outshone itself in all these departments and how!

Communication to stay in touch: Amidst the COVID related lockdown, Amul has been one of the more visible brands. Amul rode on the popularity of the epic tele serials Ramayana & Mahabharat. They unleashed a campaign consisting of ads under the ‘Amul Classics’ tag which were a series of old advertisements. This was interspersed with the new ad-clips and new products. This ensured that the audience across the age spectrum was engaged. The older group connected with the classic ads through sheer nostalgia and the younger lot connected with the new slick ads. 

Audience engagement: The Amul girl has been weaving her own magic during these days, appreciating working women who were Working from Home, mourning the loss of celebrities, reflecting the national anti-China sentiment in the wake of the Galvan valley standoff and so much more. However, what takes the cake (literally) is the hugely successful Amul FaceBook live program #SimpleHomemadeRecipes. This program which was initiated during the lockdown goes live for 4 times in a day. They invite chefs from popular restaurants, hotels, Bakeries, catering institutions and others to showcase their craft. The chefs use the wide range of Amul products to create Simple Homemade Recipes from the convenience of their home or hotel kitchens. Each capsule with #SimpleHomemadeRecipes is about 30minutes and is live – lending full credibility to the recipe and process. Amul also had these ‘Cook with the chef sessions’ where upto 1000 patrons from across the world prepared dishes along with the main Chef. Hats off to the Amul team for collaborating with over an astounding 2000 prominent chefs to engage over 750Mn viewers worldwide…all of this while the rest of the world was reeling under the impact of Lockdown. Dishes were meant to be simple and the viewers can make these as they watch too. Adding a stamp of trust to the brand which is amongst the most trustworthy brands in the world just reinforces the positioning. This is probably one of the best Digital Engagement campaigns I have witnessed and propels the brand several notches up. I have personally benefitted from #SimpleHomemadeRecipes program as my 10yr old twin daughters cooked up a few recipes and have now become adept with it. 

Demonstrate Compassion: During lockdown, when other private milk companies stopped procuring from farmers, milk unions associated with Amul procured an extra 35 lakh litres of milk per day. This in turn helped the farmers and of course bumped up production for Amul. Such progressive measures are not just good for business, but also good for trust building amongst consumers and community as whole. 

Innovate to stay ahead: Constant innovation is one of the qualities of a dominant brand. Stay relevant and contemporary is the mantra. Amul has a product range of over 300 products and if that was not enough, they have launched a few products in the last few weeks. Amul launched the Ginger and Tulsi variants of flavored milk in cans to add to the Haldi variant. This was meant to boost immunity and help in fighting COVID. Recently Amul has also launched Panchamrit (a blend of honey, sugar, curd, milk and ghee) for the temple going devotee as hygiene becomes pivotal amidst the pandemic. 

To put this in perspective - launching a new product in the food category is not easy and to do that with the restrictions of lockdown bearing upon them - extremely creditable. The process normally involves, prototype creation, sensory evaluation, Nutritional assessment, customer evaluation, product aesthetics, Production planning, packaging designs, branding and finally the launch and sending to the shop shelves. 

Amul, at over ₹ 52000cr is a formidable brand. What is even more creditable is that the brand was painstakingly built on the core values of trust, perseverance, compassion & value for money by folks who understood consumer behavior and acquired knowledge from the grassroots (not taught at Harvard).  Amul aims be a mind-numbing ₹ 1Lakh cr brand in just the next 5 years and I wish them all the best for this lofty ambition. 

Not that they need it, but they’ll will find raving fans like me celebrating at every milestone they cross in their journey towards establishing a truly Global Indian brand. Keep up the great work Amul !

Accelerating the transition to Electric

New-age mobility: Accelerating the transition to electric — three suggestions

This article was carried by The Financial Express dt 22nd June 2020

https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/new-age-mobility-accelerating-the-transition-to-electric-three-suggestions/1998752/

The Covid-19 crisis has brought with it an opportunity to pause, think and approach the new era with a new lens. It also allows us to reset our vision in line with our long-term objectives—green objectives, for instance.

We have seen the benefits of the lockdown on our environment—blue skies, clean air, etc—a direct consequence of a sharp drop in vehicular pollution. Would we want to fritter it away and not enjoy cleaner air for the rest of our lives? Remember, India is home to seven of the top 10 most polluted megacities in the world.

Electric mobility is a definitive way to retain this pristine air without compromising functionality. Continuing with the ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles with the same alacrity as in the past may never enable us to see AQI of about 50 in Delhi and Mumbai. A shift to electric mobility is imminent and long overdue in India just as the trends show for Europe, the UK, China and other countries.

The good news is there were indications of this shift at the recently concluded Delhi Auto Expo 2020. Electric vehicles were the most photographed or Instagrammed stars of the show. A range of electric buses, commercial vehicles, cars, e-scooters and e-bikes were on display.

Mahindra launched the electric version its KUV100 SUV, called the eKUV100. Mahindra Funster Electric, Mahindra Udo and Mahindra Atom concepts also caught the fancy of auto enthusiasts. Renaultdisplayed its Zoe and City KZ-E. The other head-turners were Niro EV and Soul EV from Kia. Also displayed were the cute-looking GWM R1 and iQ from another auto major entering India soon, Great Wall Motors. Tata Motors had the largest pavilion showcasing everything from the sprightly Nexon EV to the Tata Sierra concept in an electric avatar.

Electric buses are making an appearance in large cities, stimulated by the incentives available to municipal bodies. People find the idea of an electric bus sans noise and pollution almost magical. Even the newer generation electric cars are very promising—the ZS EV from MG Motor, Hyundai’s Kona Electric and Tata Motors’ Nexon EV. More EVs are expected to be launched in India soon.

So, what is preventing electric cars from becoming the preferred option? Well, the most cited reason is the lack of charging infrastructure. The government is driving a lot of focus to change this and seems committed to make it happen. Our obligation to the Paris Agreement may fall short unless we make the transition to electric—big and swift.

Incidentally, we do have public chargers in most large cities in India, if you need them. If? Yes, that’s because worldwide everyone charges their electric cars at home. Recharging an electric vehicle is unlike refuelling an ICE car. It’s a fundamental behavioural change that needs to sink in.

The electric cars we buy come bundled with a home charging kit. It’s like your own private petrol pump. The charger is installed next to the location where you park your car, whether your apartment is in a high-rise or an independent house. When you come back from work, plug the charger into your car and relax. Your car will be charged in a few hours. New-generation electric cars in India have a real-world driving range of 275-375 km. And if your commute is largely within your city, you are completely sorted for the week.

A smart home charger can be controlled through a mobile app. This means you can switch the charger on and off from your living room and don’t need to physically reach out to the charging spot or the car. The app also gives you the current state of charge, cost, range, ability to charge with discounted off-peak rates (if offered by your discom), total monthly consumption, etc.

Public chargers are typically required for emergency top-ups or intercity journeys. So, when you travel from, say, Delhi to Chandigarh and want to take a break along the highway for a coffee or for scrumptious parathas at Murthal, you may as well top-up your car. This is to prevent ‘range anxiety’ and to drive on with peace of mind.

Similarly, if you run low on charge within the city, you may find a public charger at a mall, a municipal public parking lot, a supermarket or even your workplace.

Operators like Tata Power, Fortum, etc, are putting up rapid chargers along highways, at malls, residential complexes, public parking lots, commercial complexes, etc. However, setting up ubiquitous charging infrastructure needs collaboration between the automakers, utilities, end-users or the community and government agencies—supported by a policy framework.

What can we do to make a difference now? There are some suggestions:

Take an electric cab or bus: Electric buses are being deployed on many routes these days by almost all city transport bodies. Similarly, there are a lot of options for e-cabs in all the big cities—Evera Cabs, BluSmart, Glyd, Lithium, Ryds, Meru and others. You will be comfortable, cocooned in silence and, more importantly, emission-free and guilt-free.

Encourage charging infrastructure: Ask your municipality, organisation or RWA to put an EV charger in your premises. Have conversations with people who matter, the corporators, municipal officials, the society/RWA committee, etc. A potential buyer will be comforted to see a charger in the vicinity and this can swing her buying decision.

Drive an EV: We have some gorgeous EVs in India, and more are waiting in the wings. Promise to buy an electric car as your next purchase. There are a lot of incentives like deeply discounted or free registration, free toll, free parking or similar such. Furthermore, an electric car is so much fun to drive—thrilling linear torque, no gears, noiseless operation, etc. Top that with low cost of running, low maintenance, low cost of ownership, and you have a winner on your hands.

And finally, when you do buy an electric car—smile. You’ve made a responsible choice. You’re driving with the ultimate badge of honour—a green number plate. If the people around don’t thank you enough, Mother Nature will.

The Telecom Quandary

The Telecom Quandary

The Telecom sector which is in deep distress was (and is till) hoping to get some relief from the government, after it was dealt a severe blow after the Supreme Court judgement last week. The judgement has caused a very deep cut (over 90k crore mainly between Airtel and VodafoneIdea) into the already wounded sector which is now left with only 4 players (4^th being BSNL) from over a dozen that existed not very long back. 

If that was not enough, there is trouble brewing with the public spat between the COAI and RJio. COAI was left red-faced at being slammed by RJio and has brought to fore some fundamental differences between Jio and the incumbent operators.

This should not come as a surprise to the industry watchers as this is not the first time that their differences have come out in the open. They have a history of multiple such very sharp public squabbles. In fact much earlier in 2002, when RIL in its earlier avtar as Reliance Communications (now a part of Anil Ambani group) launched ‘mobile’ services under the Fixed Service License (WLL), COAI had protested saying Reliance’s WLL was a back door entry into the mobility space. 

And subsequently when RJio launched in 2016 they don’t see eye to eye with the rest of the members of the COAI. In fact hostilities broke out between the COAI and RJio at the launch stage itself when RJio sought interconnect nodes from the incumbents and COAI responded saying there was no provision for providing free trials. They alleged that the new operator under beta test is generating huge traffic using spectrum allocated for commercial use, but not yielding revenue share for government. This was followed by R-Jio hitting back by saying the claims were "malicious, unfounded, ill-informed and frivolous" and were made with an "ulterior motive" of promoting vested interests of incumbent operators.

In fact COAI has also been taking on the authorities at times accusing it of siding with ‘a particular operator’ and RJio has been tacitly coming to the defence of the authorities just as in this case. COAI without naming R-Jio went as far as to say that TRAI’s orders “seem to be strengthening the ambitions of one particular operator with deep pockets and monopolistic designs at the expense of other operators.” COAI’s comments were “intentionally, wrongfully and maliciously made to induce disparaging and inimical opinions against Jio” said R-Jio and demanded a public apology.

There have been numerous such instances – differing on levying Spectrum Usage Charges, on net neutrality, IUC changes and other many similar instances. So the fact is that the latest showdown is not the first one… and is most likely not the last one, the Telecom Sector has seen. With R-Jio not agreeing with almost any of the views shared by the other operators, industry watchers  just wonder why they are ‘together’ in the first place or that ‘does COAI really represent the collective view of the telecom operators?’ 

Even with the latest missive by R-Jio in which they say that “the service providers have chosen to continue with their below cost tariffs, especially when there is no competitive pressure compelling continuation of these tariffs.” While it is true that the tariffs charged by the operators are meant to be ‘forbearance’ … the fact is that there is tremendous competitive pressure and that too from R-Jio itself. Right from the launch of services in 2016, R-Jio has been offering extremely low pricing and has disrupted the market. It has caused the crash of prices from Rs 250 per GB to effectively almost Rs 2 now. Voice and SMS is almost free. Private telecom operators’ haven’t seen a healthy balance sheet ever since.

In fact R-Jio never thought of themselves as a ‘regular’ telecom operator. They have always considered themselves in a league of their own and hence ‘beyond’ compare. This is not completely untrue. They have taken bold moves and that’s not just by dropping their prices. They have deployed technologies which were hitherto untested at this scale. They changed the telecom charging paradigm from ‘ala carte’ to ‘buffet model’ which means voice and data were charged at per minute or per GB rates when R-Jio arrived at the scene and turned tariffing on its head by offering ‘Unlimited everything’ plans for a fixed fee. In fact they call themselves a Digital Services player and have offered loads of content like Music, Movies, Live TV, News, Magazines, cloud storage etc and created a full consumption ecosystem to go with their core telecom services. This is something which other telecom players attempted to match but still haven’t been able to..in the same measure. So R-Jio does indeed offer much greater value to the customers, whereas the incumbent operators try to match up with Jio and complain of financial difficulties (not without reason though)

Arun Shourie had very famously said ‘Reliance had done something in excess of what had been licensed.. and most would say today that those restrictions and conditions should not have been there in the first place. And that the Dhirubhais are to be thanked, not once but twice over: they set up world class companies and facilities in spite of those regulations, and thus laid the foundations for the growth all of us claim credit for today...’ . It was a very controversial statement made in 2003 by a Union Minister in the presence of the current Prime Minister. However, we are seeing shades of the same being played out today with Mukesh Ambani now at the helm. 

And when competitors allege that regulations are meant to favour a ‘certain operator’, R-Jio goes about its task of aggressively taking on competition and sometimes testing the boundaries of regulation - it’s just another day at work.

Travails of a wearable accessory

Travails of a wearable accessory.

 

This article was carried by Campaign India on 18th December 2019

https://www.campaignindia.in/article/blog-the-smart-watch-versus-the-swiss-watch/456251

Google’s acquisition of FitBit for a whopping 2.1bn$ has brought the focus back on the wearable devices as a category. Google has bought Fitbit essentially to enhance the profile of the its users and get valuable health data which Fitbit has been collecting for over a decade now. Google had also invested a fortune in developing smart watches. They already had a platform wearOS and had reportedly spent over $40Mn for a deal with Fossil. This would give them access to ‘smartwatch technology’ and their R&D team. So we can look forward to some serious competition in the smartwatch category now with Google jumping into the ring. Apple had been running away with the market and commands close to 50% of the market now. Samsung and Fitbit have now almost 13% each with the balance dispersed between Huawei, Fossil, Xiaomi, Garmin and others. 

When I read about the Google acquisition, I was reminded of the time I considered buying the Apple Watch when it was unveiled in Sept 2014. It was sporty, it was all purpose, it was smart, it could record my workouts (I am into running, swimming & cycling) it had so many features, it came with changeable straps and changeable watch face and finally… it was the only one of its kind. It was irresistible and I was tempted to buy it almost immediately when it went on sale in Apr 2015. But the earliest Apple Watch model required me to carry my iPhone with me while running which was very unwieldy. So, when the newer model came with in-built GPS, I immediately lapped it up - the Apple Series 2, Nike Watch.

I own other watches including some Swiss watches (Tag Heur & Rado) and also fitness devices. For the record, I have in the past owned the Garmin Vivosmart and the Fitbit Charge. With these, the life was simple, as I wore the Swiss watch in my left wrist and the fitness device in my right wrist.

I also have a Garmin multiple discipline watch for logging in my runs. It has GPS, Heart Rate monitoring, time, pace etc.. which was good for my running routines and occasional swimming & cycling. This is a very good watch, but didn’t look very elegant on the wrist to be my main watch.

The Apple watch had changed all that. Now I had a watch which looked very elegant, did the job of a fitness device as also of a multi-discipline watch. Now I didn’t need 2 separate things on both wrists. I could wear this to work and it looked elegant. I could use it for my running, cycling & Swimming routines - it gave all the information I needed and it did the job of a fitness device by tracking my steps, movements, HR etc through the day. It does the job of displaying notifications (Emails, SMS, FB, Twitter) remarkably well if I chose to get notified.

I could also answer my phone calls and have a basic conversation through the watch if I get a call during my bike ride and the phone is in the pouch. It goes beyond its brief, when it asks me to have a deep breathing session once my Heart Rate goes beyond ‘acceptable’ level. I changed the watch face and strap depending on the occasion and was enjoying it.

Every day I discovered new features of the Apple Watch and was happy overall. I realized that the watch ‘rewarded’ me with virtual medals if I achieved the 3 goals for the day – standing, calories burnt & steps taken. It would also reward me if I did this for a week continuously and so on. It felt good and I felt motivated.

I used the watch every day for a long time and the Swiss watch got consigned to the drawer.

However, one fine day, I actually begun to miss my Swiss watch. How come? I thought. I had everything in the Apple watch that I could ever want. So why on earth did I miss my Swiss watch? The answers were not easy. 

‘The wrist’ I realized is a very premium piece of ‘real estate’ and I wouldn’t allow just about ‘anything’ to adorn it. It has to be good, elegant, functional and yes since it is probably the only serious ‘accessory’ a man possesses, it better be right up there.

How I treat this premium piece of ‘real estate’ would determine the kind of watch that goes on it. A masterpiece painting is to be hung on the wall in the living room and a functional thing like say a hi-tech computer or laptop goes in a workspace. That’s the crux of the difference between a Swiss watch and a Smart watch – the Apple Smartwatch in my case.

A Swiss watch to me is a piece of art. It conjures up images of master craftsmen (or horologists as they are called) adept at their craft of making the finest watches. Swiss watches are all about pride of possession. In lots of families they get passed on from generation to generation as family heirlooms. Their value ‘increases’ with time and nothing … just nothing goes wrong with them and that’s the beauty of a Swiss watch. A Swiss watch was never really about telling the time or about information on the wrist, it was always about adornment, embellishment or a subtle piece of jewelry on your wrist, a luxury. The more you see them, the more you admire them just like an artist’s work. The beauty of the work unravels itself layer by layer and is timeless.

In contrast, Smartwatches are technology. There’s always a newer and better model round the corner. Being technology, it becomes redundant very fast and in most cases don’t last more than a year and hence not timeless. Smartwatch makers are under constant pressure to introduce newer models, more advanced features, a thinner one or the one with a bigger battery life. 

So when I go for formal occasions I tend to opt for my Swiss watch and when the occasions is casual or sporty… Apple iWatch is the go-to watch.

But this discussion is not about Apple alone, it’s about smartwatches as category. In fact I have a belief that wrist watches owe their ‘comeback’ to this category. Wrist watches had almost lost their relevance as a utility ever since smartphones started taking over our lives. Millennials didn’t find much use for the regular quartz or battery operated wrist watches (as that’s what most people can afford) and were discarding it with much alacrity. They were not ‘cool enough’ to be a part of their attire or wardrobe.

And then the smartwatches come into play in which Apple makes a grand entry. Apple’s entry just upped the ‘cool factor’.  They are techy, they are modular, have lots of cool features (never mind, if you may never use most of them) they change their form and function depending upon the occasion and hence everyone and his neighbor wanted them. In fact Apple watches have reached a status where they are synonymous with smartwatches. It is light years ahead of the competition – all with the ECG functionality, the built-in connectivity and what not. It’s almost like the status Apple iPhones enjoyed until the others caught up.

Makers of Swiss watches remained in denial suggesting that they have weathered many a storm and quoted digital multi-functional watches (of the 80’s & 90’s), quartz watches, solar powered watches etc. However, when smartwatches penetration started inching up, supported in good measure by the entry of Apple with their premium Steel and Rose Gold models, traditional watch makers started to increasingly feel threatened.

I don’t know what it would be like to have the best of both worlds. I would love to have a Swiss watch with changeable straps and dials and similarly the robustness of a Swiss watch in a Smartwatch. Garmin is trying to reach out to the luxury Swiss Watch generation with first their Garmin Fenix Chronos and now the Garmin MARQ series watches which have all the sports & smartwatch functions and is solidly built. On the other hand Tag Heur is trying to reach out to the smartwatch generation with their Tag Heur Connected watches. Normally you wouldn’t hear Tag Heur, Intel & Android in the same sentence… but that’s what Tag Heur’s collection is all about. It is powered by Intel and Android or Wear OS to offer the build quality of a traditional Swiss Watch and the range of functions and modularity of a smart watch. Tag Heur has been updating its ‘connected’ collection from the time it was first launched way back in 2015. Similarly, there is the Mont Blanc Summit 2 watch and Tambour Horizon from the luxury brand Loius Vuitton that have experimented with their connected watches for the swish set. 

While the jury is still divided on the outcome of the Swiss vs Smart battle one thing is clear that both categories are here to stay. Smartwatches are not a passing fad and will eventually get ‘smarter’ by the day. They are already becoming ‘essential health management’ devices. Umm Ok! Both are seeing a growth, though I believe the Swiss watch makers have more to do to come back into the game and stay aspirational.

And did I forget to mention the quartz battery operated watches here. Well, those are really as I read somewhere – the equivalent of an imitation picture printed from the internet whereas the Swiss watch is the original masterpiece.

The Smartwatch business is expected to grow to over $30bn in the next 3-4 year and Google obviously wants a big share of that business. Google will soon launch its smartwatch with the help of expertise that Fitbit hardware brings. In the meanwhile, I have got myself the gorgeous Apple watch Series 5 (hurry up Google!) and am using it with additional straps I had purchased – A black steel Milanese Loop, a Hermes Leather strap, a Nylon sport loop strap and two colourful elastomer bands. But I will keep coming back to my Rado Centrix Series watch or the Tag Heur Carrera whenever I get bored of the Apple Watch and still drool on the Omega Seamaster that I am eyeing next.

IUC debate – A Lovers’ tiff or is it ?

IUC debate - A Lover's tiff or is it ?

Reliance Jio has set the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons by announcing that they will be passing on the IUC charges to their customer. At 6p per minute this is not insignificant given the fact the customers have gotten used to phrases like Free and Unlimited

For a company that largely owes its explosive growth to a series of regulatory interventions – divine fortuitousness/providence or blatant favoritism (depending on who you ask) crying foul at first hint of unsuitable regulation doesn’t exactly evoke compassion.

When Jio launched in 2016, the incumbent operators were required to provide interconnects to face a tsunami of calls from Jio– then a newcomer and had announced everything free. Even though they would be paid the termination charges, the incumbents resisted but eventually relented when the authorities bared the stick.  In Sept 2017, the 13^th amendment was enforced which took us on a roadmap of zero IUC (bill n keep), and that’s when the incumbents protested heavily again. They opposed the Telecom IUC proposal of Sept 2017 (13^th amendment) and the matter is languishing. The terminating charge was at 20p until Feb 2015, 14p until Oct 2017 and post which it moved to 6p which is prevailing currently. This is proposed to be zero from Jan 1, 2020.) This IUC regime was a dream (almost tailormade) since Jio started as a newcomer who benefited from lowering IUC (the incumbents lost a lot) and the burden of IUC vanishes when Jio itself becomes big – a fairytale indeed.

However, that wasn’t meant to be. The TRAI issued a consultation paper mid-September seeking consultation about ‘What if the Zero IUC proposal was pushed ahead?’. This doesn’t suit Jio, as with over 300Mn customers now, they have the largest base and would be a net loser on the IUC front.

Hence have now started charging 6paise per minute to customers. This is an ill-advised step:

a.They had a promise to the customers that voice will be free ‘forever’ and mind you – the promise was made when the new IUC rates were still at 14p per minute and the changes to 14 – 6 – 0 was not even in the horizon.

b.Customers today in the Number Portability era can’t distinguish between an on-net and an off-net call and hence won’t even know whether they will be charged or not when the call is made.

c.It’s extremely inconvenient for a customer who hitherto does a single recharge for unlimited voice, data and SMS. Now he would be required to load a Rs 10 IUC recharge which is a ‘currency’ balance and also need to keep track of it. A regressive step indeed.

d.The IUC charge in its very spirit is meant to be a settlement between operators and not meant to be line item for the end customer to worry about. It’s supposed to be included in the tariff a customer is charged. Or so it has been thus far.

The carrot of 1GB data for IUC top-up of Rs 10 doesn’t cut ice since data is mostly unlimited in any case and 1GB wouldn’t offer any great value whatsoever.

Surely Jio has been credited for disrupting the market and bringing about the ‘data revolution’ that the world is talking about. From a data consumption of 600MB per user to over 10GB per user is nothing short of extraordinary – a change which has impelled the wider digital ecosystem in the country.

It needs to be said here that the TRAI has not a taken a decision as yet – it’s still at the consultation stage. The pre-emptive action by Jio obviously looks like a pressure building tactic on the regulator and make themselves look like a victim. Given their proximity to the establishment they have never had to ‘fight’ the regulator who has been overtly and (sometimes) brazenly benevolent to the Jio cause. ‘Lover’s tiff’ I say – how cute nah!

The company executive in the video statement calling this a ‘regulatory issue’ said “ .. for as long as IUC charges continue to exist, Jio is compelled to most reluctantly but unavoidably … to transparently pass on this regulatory charge to customer…” a tonality that smacks a little short of street protests …albeit politically correct. There is also an online petition doing the rounds urging the regulator to implement the zero IUC from 1^st Jan 2020 as planned. Twitter and WhatsApp went ablaze with their share of protests and memes with the #boycottJio – quite unfairly so.

The incumbent operators like Airtel and Vodafone-Idea had a choice to make in this. They could have followed suit and passed on the IUC charge to the customer. This would have come as a welcome relief on their bleeding P&L, but they chose to ride the moral High Horse. They reinforced the trust and transparency of which Jio suffers quite a deficit – further accentuated by this move.

While the regulator is well within its right to review and relook at the IUC regime in a dynamic telecom landscape, release of the consultation paper just months before the proposed date of implementation of zero IUC (bill and keep) also doesn’t augur too well. It just sends a chill down the spines of the telco mandarins. But to be fair, the postponing of bill n keep arrangement is not without merit. When the revised IUC charges came into force in Sept 2017, it was expected that the traffic imbalance (incoming vs outgoing calls) would have got eliminated and a sort of equilibrium would have reached. Also by end 2019 it was expected that most operators would have moved to packet switched technologies (read VOLTE). The cost of terminating the call would be negligible in which case. And while things are moving in the right direction, we are not there yet.

Whether Airtel, Vodafone-Idea & BSNL also start charging and improve their bottom lines or Jio withdraws the additional charge remains to be seen. What is however clear is that a statement has been made and also goes on to prove yet again that there has never been an easy moment in the lives of telecom folks.