New guidelines in place to bring transparency in tariff plans

New Delhi, September 18

Telecom regulator TRAI on Friday issued a fresh set of rules for publication and advertisement of tariff plans by telcos, in a bid to boost transparency in mobile offers and to help subscribers make informed decisions.

Directive to telcos

TRAI has now directed telcos to publish, service area-wise — within 15 days — each tariff plan for postpaid and prepaid subscribers

The consumer-oriented move assumes significance as telecom subscribers often grapple with issues such as lack of information, unclear or hard to find plan details — a situation that affects subscribers’ ability to make proper choices.

Tightening the rules for telcos, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday issued directions on tariff publication and tariff advertisements.

“…it has been observed that existing measures adopted by telecom service providers are not transparent as they should be and that some of the telecom service providers are not prominently highlighting additional terms and conditions and are also collating the terms and conditions applicable to various tariffs on a single web-page and that the relevant information either gets lost in the maze of detail or becomes ambiguous and incomprehensible to consumers,” TRAI directive said. — PTI