Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea ask Trai not to intervene in fixing validity spans of prepaid tariffs

Kolkata: Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have urged the telecom regulator not to intervene in fixing prepaid tariff validity spans and keep the matter under forbearance, saying any such intervention would be unwarranted and could disrupt and destabilise mobile tariff structures, hurting consumers.

Market leader, Jio, though, has suggested that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) issue an advisory calling on telcos to offer at least one prepaid plan voucher (PV), special tariff voucher (STV) and combo voucher (CV) with 30-day validity to address consumer complaints around the 28-day packs.

In its discussion paper, issued last month, Trai had said it was awash with complaints from countless mobile users that they felt cheated as they were being made to do 13 recharges in a year for monthly plans.