RJio SIM cards being sold in the black market in Delhi

While Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio is battling it out with other telecom players on points of interconnection (PoIs), another issue the latest entrant may face is black-marketing of Jio SIMs.

Multi-retail outlets in and around Delhi are selling the Jio SIM in black for anywhere between ₹300 and ₹600.

For instance, BN Pandey Communication store at Kishangarh, in South Delhi, is selling RJIo’s ‘unlimited’ plan SIM at ₹600.

The salesperson in the store openly says: “We are selling it in black at ₹600 per SIM.” The SIM card is provided free at Reliance’s authorised stores.

Within 500 metres, there is another shop that is selling a Jio SIM at ₹300. When you try to bargain, the seller is even ready to charge a lower amount, provided it is a ‘bulk’ purchase.

“You are getting free calls and unlimited internet for the next three months (till December 31) at just ₹600, so why not? You won’t get such plans from anyone else,” said Narender (name changed) who sells around 10-12 packs every day from one such shop.

When asked about the authenticity of the connection since it is in ‘black’ and if the SIM is in someone else’s name, he said: “Everything is under the same process. just like you get it from a Reliance Digital Store — you need to give address and ID proofs like Voter ID or your Aadhaar number.”

He said that instead of standing in a long line and not being sure if you would get a SIM card on the same day (in case of low stocks), people prefer this hassle-free system.

He also assures buyers that the SIM will be activated within seven days of the purchase and if it is not done, Narender promises to refund the money.

“ Pehle do din mein activate ho jata tha; aajkal ek hafta lagega (earlier the activation used to take two days, but now it will take a week),” he said. On ‘bulk’ buying, one of the sellers said: “Since only two SIMs can be made available under one ID proof, a buyer can present three-four ID proofs (of family or friends) to avail himself of the number of SIMs he requires.”

Technically, the sellers are following all the Know Your Customer (KYC) norms to provide a SIM (excepting instant connections based on Aadhaar biometrics or eKYC). The question is does Reliance Jio Infocomm know about it?

Similar instances were reported before the commercial launch (September 5) also.

BusinessLine’s inquiries with Reliance Jio on the issue remained unanswered despite repeated reminders.

According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) guidelines, while SIM cards can be purchased on the basis of ID proof and address proof from any retail outlet (company owned or multi-brand retail), the application is then forwarded to the company (in this case, RJio).

After due diligence, such as verification of the residential address, the SIM is activated.

In the case of eKYC, the SIM is activated within a few hours of giving biometrics based on the Aadhaar number match (once the person’s details are approved by the Aadhaar database server).