TRAI mandates telecom firms to offer voice, SMS-only recharge plans
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has updated its tariff guidelines, asking mobile service providers to launch recharge plans exclusively for voice calls and SMS. The new mandate comes as a way to serve customers who don't use mobile data. Also, the validity of special recharge coupons has been increased from the current 90 days limit to a whole year.
New TRAI rules to benefit 150 million 2G users
The new tariff rules would benefit a large section of India's population, especially the nearly 150 million 2G users, dual-SIM owners, elderly, and rural people. With this, consumers would only have to pay for what they need, rather than spending more on data they don't consume. TRAI's data from telcos indicated that about 150 million subscribers in India still use feature phones, highlighting the need for non-data-specific recharge options.
TRAI's initiative contradicts telecom giants' strategies
While TRAI's new move focuses on consumer choice, it goes against the aggressive push by top telecom players such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to shift users from 2G to 4G or even 5G. These companies are looking to boost their Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) with bundled plans offering unlimited data and voice services. But, TRAI's consultation process found many users—especially senior citizens, families with broadband at home, and non-tech-savvy people—don't need data plans bundled with voice and SMS.
TRAI introduces more flexibility in recharge values
Along with the voice and SMS-only plans, TRAI has also brought more flexibility in recharge values. Now, telecom operators can issue recharge vouchers of any denomination, but still have to provide a minimum recharge option of ₹10. Earlier, recharge denominations were limited to ₹10 and its multiples. This change gives consumers even more choice to pick their preferred mobile services package.
