Telefinance regulator mandates one-plan voucher

In its new order issued on Thursday, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI has mandated that telecom service providers in the country must offer a one-plan voucher that has a validity of up to 30 days.

It has been mandated by telecom service providers to provide at least one plan voucher, one special tariff voucher and one combo voucher, which will be renewable on the same day of every month.

The regulator received references from consumers who expressed concerns about the TSP's 28 days' validity rather than 30 days or a month.

TSPs have been transparent in disclosing the validity period of the said tariff offers as 28 days, according to TRAI. They haven't tried to market the same as monthly tariffs. It said that the regulator is aware of the need to address consumer concerns and perceptions in this regard.

The authority had issued a consolation paper on the Validity Period of Tariff Offers in May 2021 and asked for comments and counter comments from stakeholders. The authority had also conducted an Open House Discussion OHD through video-conferencing mode on the issues raised in the paper.

After considering the views of all stakeholders participants and the analysis of international practice in this regard, it decided to amend the 1999 Telecommunications Tariff Order by adding these two sub-clauses to clause 6:

Every Telecom Service Provider must offer at least one Plan Voucher, a Special Tariff Voucher and a Combo Voucher with a validity of thirty days.

Every Telecom Service Provider must offer at least one Plan Voucher, a Special Tariff Voucher and a Combo Voucher that is renewable on the same day every month.

With this amendment, telecom consumers will have more options to choose service offerings of appropriate validity and duration. This would allow consumers to make a more informed tariff-related choice.