Consumers queue up outside stores
Frenzied looks, confused faces and long queues. This was the scene at the Reliance Digital outlet, inside V3S mall in east Delhi. Around 2,000 people gathered before the store opened to get their hands on the Jio SIM card.
At the Digital Xpress Mini store in Jungpura, five staffers were working hard to activate as many Jio SIM cards as possible. “We have at least 300 people coming in everyday to check for SIM cards or registering for one, but we are only able to activate 100 SIM cards daily. Each takes 10 to 15 minutes,” one of the employees at the store said.
The scene was much-anticipated. Jio offers the lowest data rates in the country — 1GB for ₹50. What’s more, voice calls are absolutely free.
“They had to call the cops and get the crowed dispersed,” said Ajay Sharma, a resident of Preet Vihar, referring to a store in his locality.
The company is trying hard to restore at least some kind of order. “We started a token system under which the user can register his phone number and name. The customer can come back later in the day to collect the SIM,” one of the store managers said.
Consumers, though, were not amused. “It is just a SIM card and any identification should work with passport photos,” an agitated consumer said after being rejected. He claimed he had to wait for over an hour before that.
However, store managers differed. Customers themselves have to be aware of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)’s norms for SIM activation, they said. “Everyone has to produce a local address proof or a proper Aadhaar card and not the e-Aadhaar for SIM activation.” But the excitement is visible. Though the company did not come out with any official number on people visiting its stores, a source said: “Small stores are getting over 200 customers a day and larger stores are seeing at least 2,500.”