Telecom operators will have to expand their portfolio of voice-and-SMS-only prepaid plans, including shorter-validity options, after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Tuesday mandated a new framework aimed at giving consumers greater flexibility in choosing non-data recharges.
Under the new rules, operators will have to offer voice-and-SMS-only special tariff vouchers (STV) with validity periods of 30 days and less than 30 days, corresponding to the shorter-validity options available in their existing tariff offerings. They will also have to provide a plan that can be renewed on the same date every month, besides at least one voice-and-SMS-only STV with a longer validity.
The regulation also requires operators to make an appropriate reduction in the tariff of these packs to account for the absence of data. This means telcos will have to review both the structure and pricing of their existing voice-and-SMS-only offerings and introduce additional packs to meet the new requirements.
The move comes after Trai found that operators had largely concentrated their voice-and-SMS-only STVs around 80/84-day and 336/365-day validity periods. Shorter-duration options were limited, leaving consumers who did not require data with fewer choices and, in some cases, requiring them to opt for bundled plans containing services they did not use.
For operators, the immediate implication will be the creation of a wider set of non-data tariff options across their prepaid portfolios. They will also need to align the validity of these offerings with the regulator’s requirements and determine what constitutes an appropriate reduction in tariff when the data component of a bundled plan is removed.
Trai’s move also changes the approach it had proposed in the draft regulations. The draft had called for a largely proportional reduction in the tariff of voice-and-SMS-only STVs compared with corresponding bundled plans. In the final regulation, the regulator has instead prescribed an appropriate reduction, leaving operators to factor in the nature of the data component while determining the price.
Operators had highlighted during the consultation that longer-validity plans offered greater convenience and could have a lower effective cost per day, while there was no established demand for voice-and-SMS-only packs across all validity periods. Stakeholders also raised concerns over digital inclusion, operator revenues and the potential misuse of cheaper packs for spam and fraudulent activities.
Trai, however, concluded that the limited availability of such plans reflected gaps in market offerings rather than an absence of consumer demand. It said the framework would particularly give low-income consumers more options to recharge according to their requirements and financial capacity.
The final regulations follow a consultation that drew 1,132 responses from telecom operators, industry associations, consumer groups and other stakeholders.