The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed telecom operators to make mandated prepaid recharge options more visible to consumers, addressing concerns over the accessibility of affordable Voice and SMS plans.
Under the new direction, telecom companies must create a clearly visible section titled “TRAI-Mandated Packs” and place it as the first tab within the prepaid recharge section of their websites and mobile applications. The regulator has also asked operators to prominently display these plans at their exclusive points of sale.
The move follows TRAI’s concerns that mandated vouchers were not always prominently displayed and, in some cases, required consumers to navigate through multiple screens or categories before finding suitable plans. The regulator has described adequate visibility and accessibility as important for informed consumer choice.
The mandate comes alongside TRAI’s Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026, which require telecom providers to offer Voice and SMS-only Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs) across specified validity periods. The framework is intended to give consumers who do not need mobile data more tariff choices.
Telecom operators have been given 30 days from the direction’s issuance to submit their compliance reports, making October 30 the stated deadline.
For operators, the change means prepaid recharge interfaces will need to be redesigned to give regulatory-mandated packs greater prominence rather than leaving consumers to search through multiple categories.
