TRAI to examine new voice and SMS-only plans launched by private telcos

Jio has also discontinued its Rs 1,899 plan, which offered 24 GB of data and unlimited voice for 336 days, and its Rs 479 plan, which included 6 GB of data and unlimited voice for 84 days.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said it will review the newly introduced voice and SMS-only plans in line with existing regulatory provisions, adding these plans must be reported to the authority within seven working days of their launch. TRAI

"It has come to the notice of TRAI that recently few service providers have launched voice and SMS only packs which will be reported to TRAI within seven working days from the date of launch. TRAI will examine the recently launched vouchers as per extant regulatory provisions," the regulator said in an X post on January 24.

These voice-only plans were introduced after a TRAI directive issued on December 23, urging telecom operators to launch such tariff packs within 30 days. TRAI believes these plans will cater to subscribers who do not require data services while allowing service providers to offer bundled and data-only options to promote data inclusion.

Airtel and Jio have both rolled out no-data plans with similar validity periods. Their annual plans offer unlimited voice calls and 3,600 SMS, priced at Rs 1,959 for Airtel and Rs 1,958 for Jio. For the 84-day plan, Jio has adopted a more competitive pricing strategy at Rs 458, offering unlimited calls and 1,000 SMS, compared to Airtel’s Rs 499 plan, which includes unlimited calls and 900 SMS.

Notably, Jio’s voice-only plans include access to Jio TV, Jio Cinema, and Jio Cloud subscriptions, although these services require a Wi-Fi connection, as no mobile data is included in the plans.

In preparation for these new plans, Airtel has withdrawn its earlier Rs 1,999 plan, which offered 24 GB of data along with unlimited voice for 365 days, replacing it with a Rs 2,249 plan that provides 30 GB of data with unlimited calls for the same validity. Similarly, the Rs 509 plan with 6 GB of data for 84 days has been replaced by a Rs 548 plan offering 7 GB of data for the same duration.

Jio has also discontinued its Rs 1,899 plan, which offered 24 GB of data and unlimited voice for 336 days, and its Rs 479 plan, which included 6 GB of data and unlimited voice for 84 days.

Vodafone Idea, on the other hand, has retained its existing packs while launching a new voice and SMS-only plan. Priced at Rs 1,460, this pack provides unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS with a validity of 270 days.