look news india
Can telecom companies (Airtel, Jio, Vi) stop your incoming call services as soon as the validity of mobile data and plan ends? There is confusion regarding this question in the minds of crores of mobile consumers of the country for a long time. Recently, during the Parliament session, when this issue was raised and the MPs asked the government whether there is any legal rule to continue incoming calls without any additional plan for a fixed period even after the recharge is over, the Ministry of Communications clarified the entire situation by giving a written reply in the Parliament. Let us understand from the perspective of a tech and policy reporter what is the stand of the government and TRAI on this.
Government’s answer in Parliament: What is the official rule?
Responding to a question asked in Parliament, the government clarified that under the existing guidelines of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), telecom companies have the commercial freedom to decide their tariff plans, validity period and grace period.
The government said that at present there is no binding rule or mandatory minimum time limit that would compel telecom companies to continue the free incoming call facility indefinitely even after the recharge plan ends. Companies can stop incoming services after the validity expires as per their business model and network management.
How do companies work when validity ends?
At present the major private telecom companies of the country (Airtel, Jio, Vodafone Idea) work under a prescribed system if the minimum recharge is not done by the customer:
-
Grace Period: After the plan expires, companies usually give a ‘grace period’ of 7 to 15 days, during which only outgoing calls are stopped but incoming calls continue.
-
Suspension of Service: If no new recharge is done after the grace period is over, then the incoming services are also completely suspended.
-
Number Deactivation: According to TRAI rules, if there is no recharge or commercial activity (call/message) in a SIM card for 90 consecutive days, then that number can be deactivated and allotted to a new user.
Consumer demand and TRAI’s stance
Common consumers and public representatives have been demanding that repeatedly recharging expensive plans just to keep the number active becomes a financial burden for the poor and rural class people. Therefore, at least the incoming facility for bank OTP and important calls should remain free.
However, telecom companies argue that it is necessary to maintain the average revenue per user (ARPU) to maintain the network infrastructure and spectrum. At present, no new order has been issued by the government or TRAI to continue incoming calls for free forever or for a long time, that is, it will be mandatory to recharge the minimum validity to keep the SIM active.