Telecom regulator revises tariff rules, orders firms to provide separate recharge plans for voice, SMS

In a big move in favour of telecom subscribers, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)—the country's telecom regulator—on Monday mandated telecom companies to provide separate special tariff vouchers for voice calls and SMSes. These special vouchers are aimed at providing the consumers an option to pay only for the services they require in general, also keeping in mind certain consumer segments especially the elderly and those living in rural parts of the country. 

TRAI also increased the validity period for special tariff vouchers to 365 days from the current 90 days. 

Issuing the Telecom Consumer Protection (12th Amendment) Regulations, 2024 and the Telecommunication Tariff (17th Amendment) Order—also known as TTO, the regulator said that the reserving of the Rs 10 denomination and its multiples only for top-up vouchers has been done away with. TRAI retained the mandate of at least one top-up voucher of the denomination provided by the TTO (50th Amendment) order 2012. 

Earlier, TRAI had issued a consultation paper in July 2024 to review the Telecom Consumer Projection Rules  2012 (TCPR), specifically addressing issues over aspects such as choice of tariff availability, and voucher validity, colour coding and denomination.