New Delhi, 22 September 2026: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has taken a very important decision for low-income and telecom customers with only basic phone usage. TRAI has given strict instructions to all telecom service providers (such as Jio, Airtel, Vodafone-Idea) to offer only 'voice call and SMS' plans with low validity. Along with this, the rates (tariffs) of these plans will also have to be reduced appropriately. This decision of TRANA will provide huge economic benefit and flexibility to crores of customers who do not need internet/data services.
TRAI has announced official details in this regard in its 'Telecom Consumer Protection (Telecom Consumer Protection) Regulations, 2026'. Under this new structure, service providers will have to market 'only voice and SMS' special tariff vouchers with validity of 30 days or less. TRAI had said in its official statement that, after the implementation of Telecom Consumer Protection (Amendment) 2024, the availability of cheap voice and SMS only vouchers in the market had become very limited. Companies were mostly focusing on expensive and long validity data bundle plans. This left low-income and senior citizen customers deprived of cheaper short-term options. The regulator felt that it was necessary to bring immediate change in this situation.
-
What will be the new plan options?
According to the new guidelines, mobile operators will have to provide the customers with the following new options..
Monthly Same-Date Recharge: A voice and SMS only plan will have to be provided which can be renewed on the same date every month (ie 15th of every month). If that date is not there in any month, it will be renewed on the last date of the month.
Long Validity Option: Apart from monthly and short validity, companies will also have to offer at least one long term plan (only voice and MSS).
-
Who will benefit the most?
In TRAI's view, this revised tariff structure will directly benefit the low-income group, users in rural areas and those customers who do not want to pay extra for unnecessary data packs. With this change, users will now be able to choose the appropriate recharge plan as per their need and financial capacity.