Netflix, Amazon Prime are latest weapons in telecom war

India’s telecom price war is back, and this time the battle is being fought with freebies. After announcing the first tariff increase in three years in 2019, telecom carriers are offering incentives such as subscriptions to services from Netflix to Amazon Prime to win customers in a content-hungry market.

With theatres in India, among the biggest film markets globally by the number of tickets sold, closed due to pandemic restrictions, the demand for entertainment content has shifted online. Several big-budget local films have been released on streaming platforms this year.

On Tuesday, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the country’s biggest telecom company by subscribers, launched a new Rs 399 ($5.4) plan for users who opt for monthly billing instead of pay-as-you-go packs.