New Delhi, April 7 Telecom regulator TRAI on Tuesday proposed making it mandatory for telecom operators to offer mobile plans with only calling and SMS services at a lower price compared to their current special tariff vouchers, which include data facilities as well.
In a draft Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulation, 2026, TRAI said it has mandated that every telecom operator shall offer at least one special tariff voucher exclusively for calling (voice) and SMS only, but companies have issued some plans with longer validity.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) also found that while introducing these voice and SMS-only packs, telecom operators initially fixed relatively higher prices, and these were not reduced in proportion to the removal of data benefits from bundled plans.
The regulator said that the outcome of the previous change has not been adequate, and therefore, it has come up with a new proposal.
"The proposed amendment seeks to address this issue by mandating that for every unique validity period offered under Special Tariff Vouchers with Voice, SMS and Data (whether with or without value-added services), the service provider shall also offer a corresponding Special Tariff Voucher exclusively for Voice and SMS," TRAI said.
The regulator said that the amendment will enhance transparency, prevent forced procurement of unwanted bundled services, and ensure that consumers who do not require data are not made to pay for it or placed at a disadvantage.
"At the same time, it provides consumers with greater choice of Voice and SMS-only packs, placing them at par with data-inclusive packs," the regulator said.
TRAI has invited comments from interested parties on the proposal by April 28.