TRAI Voice Only Plan: TRAI has proposed a separate recharge plan with only voice calls and SMS. If the rules are implemented then feature phone users, senior citizens and customers without data usage can get up to 50% cheaper recharge.
Amidst the rising prices of mobile recharge, there is relief news for crores of feature phone users, senior citizens and those who do not use the internet. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a draft proposal under which in future, separate recharge plans with only voice calls and SMS can be made available. If this proposal is implemented, such customers will not have to pay extra money for unwanted data.
Why does TRAI want to bring only voice and SMS plans?
TRAI has suggested in the draft of ‘Telecommunication Consumer Protection Regulations 2026’ that telecom companies should also offer voice and SMS based recharge packs apart from data plans. According to the proposal, if a company has a data plan with a validity of 7, 28, 56 or 84 days, a voice and SMS-only option of the same duration should also be available.
Its purpose is to provide relief to those customers who do not need internet, but in the current system they have to buy expensive bundled plans including data. At present, this is only a draft proposal and before final rules are made, TRAI has sought suggestions from telecom companies, industry experts and general public.
How cheap can recharge be and who will benefit?
According to industry estimates, data accounts for 50% to 70% of the price of many mobile recharge plans. In such a situation, if data is removed, voice-only plans can be much cheaper than the current recharge.
For example, the current plan of around Rs 600 may go up to around Rs 250 to Rs 300 in future depending on the pricing policy of the operator. However, the right to decide the final price will remain with the telecom companies. This is expected to benefit feature phone users, senior citizens, customers making calls only on secondary SIM and people using Wi-Fi at home or office the most.
Proposed changes in call blocking rules also
TRAI has also suggested changes in the rules related to call management in the draft. According to the proposal, call identification or call blocking apps will not be able to block calls coming from the 1600 series, as these numbers are used by banks, financial institutions, government agencies and regulatory bodies.
At the same time, promotional calls coming from 140 series can be controlled through ‘Do Not Disturb’ (DND) service as before. At present this entire proposal is under consideration. The final rules will be issued only after the consultation process is completed and the suggestions are reviewed. If approved, customers can get more affordable and flexible options to suit their needs as competition increases in the mobile recharge market.