Trai asks Tata Tele to refund subscribers after operator shuts services in 16 circles

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Monday directed Tata Teleservices to refund the unspent balance of its pre-paid mobile subscribers as well as the security deposit of its postpaid users in 16 circles.

The regulator’s diktat comes after the Tata company surrendered the 800 Mhz spectrum in the circles and stopped its CDMA (code division multiple access) services on February 28.

In the case of pre-paid customers who ported out in the wake of the company shutting its operations, the company is supposed to transfer the unspent amount to the new service provider of the user.

There are 16 circles in which Tata Teleservices was allocated spectrum when it came bundled with the licence. There are five circles in which the company had acquired spectrum through an auction and it continues to operate services in those. These are Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh.