Telecom Regulatory Authority of India i.e. TRAI has released a consultation paper. The agency has released a consultation paper on ‘Review of Telecom Consumer Protection Regulation (TCPR) 2012’. The agency has sought feedback from stakeholders on this. This consultation paper can prove to be very special for the common people.
Actually, in this, views have been sought from the stakeholders on bringing back the voice and SMS pack. If you look at the current recharge portfolio, you will see most of the plans focus on data. That means whether the user needs the data or not, he has to buy it.
What does TRAI say?
In such a situation, TRAI has sought the views of companies on bringing back only calling and SMS plans. The agency said, ‘It is being seen that most of the bundled tariff plans available in the market are a combination of voice, data, SMS and OTT services, which do not meet the needs of a large number of subscribers.’
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‘There is a perception that subscribers are having to pay for services that are not necessary for them.’ TRAI has said these things in its consultation paper. Along with this, TRAI has also proposed to issue color coding of vouchers to telecom operators.
Will the color of each plan be different?
Earlier, telecom companies used to release top-up, combo and other plans in different colors. For example, top-ups came in green color, while blue color was used for combo packs. This helped consumers know which recharge is for whom.
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TRAI has asked telecom companies whether color coding in digital medium would be the right step. TRAI has sought written process on this consultation paper from stakeholders by 16 August 2024. Any counter response on this can be filed till 23 August 2024.
Through consultation paper, TRAI seeks the opinion of all the stakeholders on any issue. This does not mean that any such rule or order is going to be issued. In such a situation, the agency has only sought the opinion of the stakeholders on voice and SMS plans. Such plans are rarely available now.
If telecom companies offer only calling and SMS plans, then their prices will definitely be lower. We may still see some such plans which offer limited data along with unlimited voice calling and SMS. The price of these plans is much lower than the plans with daily data.