The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has finalised new tariff regulations to provide more flexible and cheaper voice and SMS-only recharge options, aiming to enhance accessibility for lower-income users and those who lack internet needs.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has moved to widen access to cheaper, voice-and-SMS-only recharge packs for prepaid users, finalising a new set of tariff rules after concluding that such plans remained too limited in the market. The change is intended to help customers who do not need mobile data, particularly lower-income users who often rely on basic calling and messaging services.
According to TRAI, the Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026 require service providers to offer special tariff vouchers for voice and SMS across shorter validity periods, alongside options that can be renewed on the same date each month. The regulator has also said there must be at least one voice-and-SMS-only voucher with a longer validity period that matches the structure of other voice, SMS and data packs.
The final rules follow a consultation process launched in April 2026, after TRAI said the market had not developed enough short-duration voice-and-SMS packs under the earlier framework. Industry summaries report that stakeholders were invited to comment on the draft, and TRAI later received 1,132 responses before holding an open house discussion in June. Financial Express reported that the regulator faced opposition from major telecom operators as it worked to push through the revised rules.
TRAI says the new tariff structure should give consumers more choice, especially those who want a basic connection without bundled internet data. The amendment also fits into a broader tightening of telecom consumer protection, as the regulator has separately strengthened its rules on unsolicited commercial communications, including requirements for application-to-person calls, pre-recorded voice calls and AI- or machine learning-based detection of suspected spam senders.
Disclaimer: This content is intended for informational purposes only. Readers are advised to exercise their own judgement, conduct due diligence, or consult a qualified expert before acting on any information provided.
