New Delhi: The telecom industry has rejected the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) call to provide talktime credit and extended validity to all pre-paid mobile phone users. It said telecos had offered benefits worth over Rs 600 crore to low-income subscribers to stay connected during the lockdown, and extending it to all pre-paid customers was unjustified.
The response from Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), whose members include Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea, comes just days after Trai pulled up telcos on selective approach in extending validity and giving talktime credit. The sector regulator had insisted that uninterrupted services need to be ensured for all prepaid subscribers amid the ongoing lockdown.
Putting up a strong defense, the industry said that adequate measures have already been taken to ensure that those who genuinely require support due to unavailability of options to recharge are provided help to tide over the situation. This was done by the industry despite the current financial stress.
COAI said that in case Trai and the government still feel the need for extension of benefits to all prepaid feature phone subscribers, this should be provided in the form of a subsidy to the telecom sector like many other essential services.
“This could be adequately compensated from the USO Fund where more than Rs 51,500 crore is being lying unutilised as March 31, 2020,” COAI said in a letter Thursday to Trai.
The industry association said despite the financial stress being faced by the sector, requisite measures have been taken by telecom operators to support low-income users who are at the bottom of the pyramid and are not in a position to recharge their prepaid services.
Operators have offered extended validity for continuation services and talktime benefits to ensure that essential calls can be made by those who genuinely need help to stay connected. The expectation of extending benefits to all prepaid users, even those who have the means to recharge, is not appropriate, it said.
“It is respectfully submitted that this is individual operator’s decision depending on its assessment,” COAI said.
PTI