Competition Commission of India: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) issued an order stating that Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) introductory offers are not in contravention of Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002.
The informant alleged that RJIL OP-1 has hidden objectives of abusing its dominant position by use of its financial status. Service users are required to have a smart phone which supports 4G network and voice over LTE. For that, RJIL is offering the 4G compatible Mobile Handsets @ Rs 3000 per handset unit. The informant asked for a detailed investigation on the activities of RJIL.
Commission viewed that the relevant product market in the facts and circumstances of the present case is the market for ‘provision of wireless telecommunication services to end users’. In regard to the relevant geographical market the Commission noted that the relevant geographic market in the instant case appears to be ‘each of the 22 telecommunication circles in India’. Therefore the relevant market in the instant case is the market for ‘provision of wireless telecommunication services to end users in each of the 22 circles in India’.
Commission held that it is difficult to construe dominant position being possessed by RJIL with 6.4% market share and also it is not likely to hold dominant position in such market on account of the presence of other competitors (Vodafone, Idea, etc.) who derive commercial and technical advantages due to their sustained and sound business presence in other telecom services. [In re C. Shanmugam, 2017 SCC OnLine CCI 27, decided on 15.06.2017]
