TRAI seeks view on 28-day prepaid plans

NEW DELHI:  The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) feels that certain plans, mainly the 28-day tariff plans, offered by telecom service providers (TSPs) are not to the satisfaction of consumers. As such, the telecom regulator has floated a discussion paper seeking views on whether to intervene in determining the validity period of telecom tariff offers or keep it under the forbearance regime. 

Trai said it has received numerous complaints including ones where consumers said they were being made to do 13 recharges in a year for monthly plans, thus making them feel cheated. “The TRAI has been receiving a lot of references from consumers regarding  the offering of tariff by telecom service providers (TSPs) for 28 days instead of a  monthly offering.

The consumers have stated in their complaints that not only the same causes confusion but also they feel cheated. It also results in hardships for them as they need to make 13 recharges of the monthly prepaid tariff offering considering  the validity period offered as 28 days instead of a month,” the regulator said. It has fixed June 11 and June 25 as timelines for written comments.

The regulator has sought views on whether the specified validity span “should be 30 days or a month, with the requirement of tariff to be renewed only on the same date of each month. It has also invited views on whether separate tariff offers ought to be mandated for 29/30/31 days in addition to the present practice of offering them for 28 days. Trai, however, acknowledged that operators have been transparently disclosing the validity period.