Reliance Jio says no preferential access to Facebook, WhatsApp

Reliance Jio will not offer preferential treatment to Facebook or Whatsapp on its network, and remains committed to net neutrality laws, its strategy head Anshuman Thakur said. Speaking to ET’s Romit Guha, Thakur and Ajit Mohan, Managing Director of Facebook India, said the deal between the two companies was open and transparent and should not face any hurdles in getting clearances from the Competition Commission of India (CCLI), which is the only approval it needs. Edited excerpts:

Q) By when do you expect the deal to close?

Anshuman: This one requires only the CCI approval…the sector gets upto 49% automatic approval. So, we don’t need any other approvals from the government…both the respective companies have approved the transaction.