Bhubaneswar: Chairman of Telecom Commission and Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash has written to the Chief Secretary of Odisha, Asit Tripathy requesting him that the customers be allowed to access mobile services without recharge during the lockdown period.
Amid the lockdown, the customers are faced with various problems in recharging or to pay the bill for landline services.
In the letter, Prakash said that due to lockdown the mobile recharge shops have been closed. As a result, many subscribers cannot recharge for continued mobile services. This move aimed at helping those who depend upon the recharge voucher system.
Prakash advised Odisha government’s Chief Secretary to direct all the Telecom Regulatory Authority of State to extend the validity period for next three months to ensure that all prepaid subscribers can enjoy uninterrupted services during the lockdown period.
Notably the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to extend the validity of prepaid users to ensure uninterrupted voice and data services amid national lockdown.
The telecom watchdog has also sought details of steps taken to ensure the availability of uninterrupted telecom services to the needy customers on a priority basis.
As telecommunication services are considered among the essential services, the central government has instructed all the telecom service providers not to interrupt the service of the subscribers.
PNN