TRAI: Jio and Airtel have reduced the prices of calling + SMS only tariff plans. After the action of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Jio has reduced the prices by Rs 210 and Airtel by Rs 110.
TRAI recently ordered telecom companies to provide voice + SMS only pack option separately for their users. After this, the companies released new tariff plans of only voice calling + SMS, but kept their price same as the data plans and removed only data from them.
That is, the companies updated the old plans by removing the data, but did not reduce the price. TRAI had said that the calling + SMS only tariff plans issued by the companies would be reviewed. After this, the prices were made cheaper.
Vodafone-Idea and BSNL have also released unlimited calling and SMS only tariff plans.
Customers do not get any benefit from the new tariff plan of the companies, rather they suffer loss. For example, earlier Airtel’s annual plan was Rs 1999. In this, customers used to get 24 GB data, but the company removed 24 GB data from it and launched the same plan to customers in the name of voice plan only.
Now Airtel has priced the plan with 365 days validity at Rs 1849, which includes unlimited voice calling and 3,600 SMS. Apart from this, Apollo 24/7 circle membership and free hello tune facility is also being given in this for 3 months.
Customers should get pack without data at a cheaper rate
TRAI wants customers to get pack without data at a cheaper rate, because many users use the phone only for calling, but they have to recharge for calling + SMS with the existing data pack, which is quite expensive.
At the same time, many users use two SIMs, in which one is for calling and the other is for internet, but they have to recharge for both. In such a situation, the government issued a new guideline and ordered to issue plans with only calling and SMS. This will directly benefit about 30 crore mobile users of the country.
Jio-Airtel-VI had made recharges 25% expensive
The country’s three major telecom companies – Vodafone-Idea, Jio and Airtel had increased the recharge prices by 25% from July 3 and 4 last year. Then Jio’s Rs 239 plan was priced at Rs 299 and Airtel’s most economical recharge plan of Rs 179 now became Rs 199, after which the demand for giving packs without data started rising.
Telecom companies fined for failing to stop spam calls
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India i.e. TRAI has fined Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea (VI) and BSNL for failing to stop spam calls and messages. This information has been given in the Economic Times report.
Apart from the four big companies, TRAI has also imposed fines on many small telecom operators. TRAI has imposed this fine on all the companies under the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR). In the latest round, TRAI has imposed a total fine of ₹12 crore on all the companies.
Total fine of ₹141 crore on telecom companies
Including the previous fines, the total fine on telecom companies is ₹141 crore. However, the companies have not paid these dues yet. TRAI has requested the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to recover the money by encashing the bank guarantee of the companies, but DoT’s decision on this is still pending.
