Trai mandates more voice and SMS-only recharge options for consumers
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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has released the Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026, mandating telecom operators to offer more voice and SMS-only recharge options. The regulations require operators to provide STVs with appropriate tariff reductions for consumers who do not need bundled data services.
The regulations were issued on Monday, following a consultation process in which Trai received 1,132 responses from stakeholders, along with an open house discussion on the proposed amendment.
What has Trai changed?
The amendment requires telecom service providers to offer Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs) with appropriate tariff reductions exclusively for voice and SMS. The vouchers must include options covering different validity periods.
According to Trai, operators will have to provide:
--STVs with validity of 30 days and less than 30 days for voice, SMS, and data services, alongside corresponding voice-and-SMS options
--A validity that can renew on the same date every month, and when that date does not exist in a particular month, renewal will take place on the last date of that month
--At least one voice-and-SMS-only STV with a longer validity period, similar to the longer-validity options offered for regular voice, SMS, and data plans
Why has Trai introduced the new rules?
Trai said it observed that the availability of voice-and-SMS-only STVs had become limited after the Telecom Consumer Protection (Twelfth Amendment) Regulations, 2024. The regulator noted that operators were offering fewer shorter-duration options, which could leave low-income consumers with limited affordable choices.
The new framework is intended to give consumers more flexibility to choose recharges based on their requirements and financial capacity, particularly those who do not need data bundled with their mobile plans.
Trai said the final regulations were framed after considering stakeholder responses and its own analysis following the consultation process.
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