New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has instructed telecom companies to mandatorily offer recharge plans that include only voice calling and SMS for short validity periods.
The move is intended to benefit customers using non-smartphones and those who do not require internet services. In recent times, operators have largely promoted plans bundled with data, which has pushed basic phone users to recharge for higher amounts than they need.
According to TRAI’s direction issued under the Telecom Consumers Protection (13th Amendment) Regulations, 2026, operators must introduce voice-and-SMS-only plans alongside existing plans that offer voice, SMS and data with validity of 30 days or less.
TRAI also said these plans should be structured so they can be renewed on the same date every month; if a particular month does not have that date, renewal should take place on the last day of that month.
Since data is excluded, TRAI noted that the new voice-and-SMS-only plans should be significantly cheaper than regular plans that include internet access. Officials said the revised pricing structure would better match consumer needs, especially for users who do not want data services.
