Cheap mobile plan coming soon! Those who only talk and SMS will get a big gift, TRAI sets the mood

New Delhi. Telecom regulator TRAI has made a big proposal for telecom companies on Tuesday. TRAI has proposed to make it mandatory for mobile operators to issue low cost mobile plans only for calls and SMS services. Its price should be lower than existing special tariff vouchers, which also include data (Internet) facility.

In the draft Telecom Consumer Protection (13th Amendment) Regulations, 2026, TRAI said it has made it mandatory for every telecom provider to issue at least one special tariff voucher, which is only for calls (voice) and SMS, but companies issued only a few plans with long validity. Now TRAI also intends to issue plans with less validity.

Price not reduced even after instructions
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) also found that when introducing voice-only and SMS packs, telecom providers initially set relatively high prices and did not reduce these prices in proportion to the removal of data benefits from the plan. The regulator has clearly stated that the result of the previous change has not been satisfactory and hence it has presented a new proposal.

What is the purpose of TRAI?
TRAI said that the purpose of the proposed amendment is to solve this problem. Under this, for each validity period of a special tariff voucher consisting of voice, SMS and data (whether containing additional services or not), the service provider will also be required to issue a separate special tariff voucher for voice and SMS only. Earlier such a plan was given but its price could not be as low as it should be.

Prohibition on forced purchase of services
The regulator said that this amendment will increase transparency and prevent forced purchase of unnecessary services. This will ensure that consumers who do not need the data are not forced to pay for it. The regulator said this will give consumers more options for voice and SMS-only packs, bringing them at par with data-rich packs. TRAI has asked the concerned parties to give suggestions on this proposal by 28 April.