TRAI's latest amendments mandate affordable Voice+SMS packs

To provide benefits to certain segments of consumers especially the elderly persons and those living in rural areas, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued certain amendments to the Telecom Consumer Protection Regulations (TCPR) and Telecommunication Tariff.

TRAI had released a consultation paper on July 26, 2024, to review the TCPR, 2012.

This consultation paper specifically addressed the issues of choice of tariff availability, validity of vouchers, colour coding of vouchers and denomination of vouchers in the interest of concerned stakeholders i.e. consumers and Telecom service Providers (TSPs).

An Open House Discussion (OHD) on the consultation paper was held through video conferencing on October 21.

Key features of the regulations include:

(i) To mandate separate Special Tariff Voucher (STV) for Voice & SMS to give consumers an option to pay for the services they require in general and to provide benefit to certain segments of consumers especially the elderly persons and those living in rural areas;

(ii) the cap on validity period for STV and Combo Vouchers (CV) has been increased from existing ninety (90) days to three hundred and sixty-five (365) days for the benefit of consumers;

(iii) colour coding of vouchers as it exists in the physical form has been done away with in view of the prominence of online re-charges;

(iv) The reserving of denomination of rs 10/- and multiple thereof only for top-up voucher has been done away with, while retaining mandate of at least one Top Up voucher of denomination of Rs 10/- provided by TTO (50th amendment) Order 2012.

The amendments have been made in definitions of STV and CV in the Telecommunication Tariff Order, 1999, to align with the amendments made in TCPR.