DELHI: Mobile-phone subscribers should have even better days ahead. Besides plunging data plans and almost free voice services, users could expect more freebies, with telcos partnering e-commerce companies to gain and retain customers as part of strategic moves that benefit both parties.Carriers have already allied with handset-makers to get more consumers to use smart-phones and data. However, to gain incremental subscriber and revenue market-share, they might need to follow the Reliance Jio example, say industry watchers. Last week, Jio opened a new front in the subscription battle by offering cash-backs and discounts through tie-ups with digital wallets and a travel portal for their higher paying users.“I believe that other telcos should be doing something similar, if not the same, because they are under immense pressure right now, given the competition,” said Navkendar Singh, senior analyst at International Data Corporation (IDC) India . “Now that Airtel , for example, has launched its online portal where it sells phones as well, it is the best positioned to offer similar plans, even though it has given some form of cash-backs through postpaid plans and its payment bank.”Arvind Singhal, CMD of Technopak Advisors, said that incumbents need to look beyond being just mobile phone companies, with voice now practically free and data tariffs extremely low.“Therefore, the way to generate revenue is through value added services such as financial services, entertainment and shopping on a single platform,” Singhal said, pointing out that Jio’s latest offers could well become mainstream.The Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio last week launched three kinds of cash-back offers on every recharge of Rs 399 and above between November 10 and 25. According to the first, eight vouchers of Rs 50 each will be credited to MyJio digital wallets of all members of Jio Prime, and these can be used to get equal amounts of value subtracted from subsequent monthly recharges, or data top-ups.Besides these, Jio subscribers will get vouchers worth Rs 300 credited into other mobile wallets such as AmazonPay, AxisPay, FreeCharge Paytm and PhonePe over subsequent months. Subscribers will also get vouchers of up to Rs 1,899 for shopping on e-commerce platforms and discounts on flight tickets on specific portals. While some of the cash-backs are given by Jio, others are offered by the payment portals themselves.“All of our joint marketing is to the extent that it (Jio) retains its users, and we would love to attract Jio’s users and retain them so that whenever they have to renew their subscription, they do it through our platform – and even use the platform for other transactions,” said Upasana Taku, co-founder at MobiKwik.On the likelihood of MobiKwik partnering other carriers, Taku said that the company may consider the option, but underlined that Jio had a far more open strategy undergirding innovations.“Customers get more convenience and value when they use Amazon Pay , which encourages them to prefer digital payments over cash,” said Shariq Plasticwala, Director Payments, Amazon India Since its entry in September 2016, Jio has upended the market through its free or ultra-low-priced data and voice services, hurting revenue and profitability at top rivals Bharti Airtel Vodafone India, and Idea Cellular . The dynamics of the competition though has moved beyond prices to first tie-ups with handset makers and now, ecommerce players.India’s top three telcos didn’t comment on whether they had similar plans. A senior executive at one of these carriers downplayed the effects of Jio’s latest offerings, saying that the cash-back plans may not have the desired effect as several changes the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to bring in shortly will take away the case for tie-ups with different wallets.“Once the new rules allow inter-operability of wallets – it allows users to transfer funds between their wallets and bank accounts through UPI – the uniqueness of cash-backs from wallet players will go away. Jio’s plan is just a customer acquisition tool,” the executive added.Technopak’s Singhal, however, didn’t buy this argument. One of Jio's wallet partners also said that cash-backs need not exclusively be in the form of money or cash but by way of loyalty points as well to ensure stickiness on the platform.etter days ahead. Besides plunging data plans and almost free voice services, users could expect more freebies, with telcos partnering ecommerce companies to gain and retain customers as part of strategic moves that benefit both parties. Carriers have already allied with handset-makers to get more consumers to use smartphones and data.However, to gain incremental subscriber and revenue market-share, they might need to follow the Reliance Jio example, say industry watchers. Last week, Jio opened a new front in the subscription battle by offering cashbacks and discounts through tie-ups with digital wallets and a travel portal for their higher paying users.“I believe that other telcos should be doing something similar, if not the same, because they are under immense pressure right now, given the competition,” said Navkendar Singh, senior analyst at IDC India.“Now that Airtel, for example, has launched its online portal where it sells phones as well, it is the best positioned to offer similar plans, even though it has given some form of cashbacks through postpaid plans and its payment bank.”Arvind Singhal, CMD of Technopak Advisors, said that incumbents need to look beyond being just mobile phone companies, with voice now practically free and data tariffs extremely low. “Therefore, the way to generate revenue is through value added services such as financial services, entertainment and shopping on asingle platform,” Singhal said.Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio last week launched three kinds of cashback offers on every recharge of Rs 399 and above between November 10 and 25. According to the first, eight vouchers of Rs 50 each will be credited to MyJio digital wallets of all members of Jio Prime, and these can be used to get equal amounts of value subtracted from subsequent monthly recharges, or data top-ups.Besides these, Jio subscribers will get vouchers worth Rs 300 credited into other mobile wallets such as AmazonPay, AxisPay, FreeCharge, MobiKwik, Paytm and PhonePe over subsequent months. Subscribers will also get vouchers of up to Rs 1,899 for shopping on ecommerce platforms and discounts on flight tickets on specific portals. While some of the cashbacks are given by Jio, others are offered by the payment portals themselves.“All of our joint marketing is to the extent that it (Jio) retains its users, and we would love to attract Jio’s users and retain them so that whenever they have to renew their subscription, they do it through our platform – and even use the platform for other transactions,” said Upasana Taku, cofounder at MobiKwik.On the likelihood of MobiKwik partnering other carriers, Taku said that the company may consider the option, but underlined that Jio had a far more open strategy undergirding innovations.