TRAI Releases Fresh Order to Clarify Rules for 30 Days or One Month Prepaid Plans
New Delhi, Apr 1: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had earlier asked the telcos in India to at least offer one prepaid plan to their users, which comes with a validity of 30 days. Further, the regulatory body had asked the operators to ensure that users get a plan with which they can recharge on the same date every month.
The telecom operators had three things to say about these orders. First, was what should be the next date of recharge in case a subscriber recharges the voucher on the 31st of the month? The second was, what happens when the subscriber recharges the voucher on any date between January 29 to January 31? Lastly, the third was two months is a very less time for the implementation of this order dated January 27, 2022. Thus, the telecom operators have sought more time with the TRAI.
TRAI said that it will delete the condition/sub-clause, which states that telcos must offer a plan that renews on the same date every month, considering not every month has an equal number of days. The regulatory body made changes to the clause and said that every telco must offer one plan which shall be renewable on the same date every month; however, if the date of such renewal is not available in a month (for example, February 30 is not available), then the date of renewal shall be the last date of the month.
TRAI didn’t say anything about what happens when the subscriber recharges on the 31st of a month, for example, December 31.
Reliance Jio recently launched the Rs 259 prepaid plan for its users. It is the same as the 239 plan of the telco. The only difference is the Rs 259 plan comes with a total validity of 30 days, while the Rs 239 plan comes with a total validity of 28 days. Both the plans offer unlimited voice calling, 100 SMS/day, 1.5GB daily data, and Jio apps subscription.
