Lockdown: Telcos should extend prepaid offers, says Trai official

NEW DELHI | KOLKATA: The telecom regulator wants telcos to extend the validity of all prepaid packs till at least May 3, the new end date for the coronavirus-led lockdown, so that subscribers who need to walk into a physical store for a recharge don’t face disconnection.

Telecom service providers Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and state-run BSNL had earlier extended the prepaid pack validity of their low-average revenue per user (ARPU) subscribers and talktime credits till up to a week after April 14–the last day of the 21-day lockdown announced last month. But no call has been taken on extending the benefits further.