The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed the telecom operators in the country to provide at least one recharge plan with a validity of 30 days for their prepaid customers.

“Every telecom service provider shall offer at least one plan voucher, one special tariff voucher, and one combo voucher having a validity of thirty days,” Trai said in a notification on Thursday.

Currently, the telcos provide recharge plans with a validity of 28 days in their prepaid segment which leads to 13 recharges during the year for customers who recharge their phones with a monthly plan.

According to the TRAI, this move is aimed at reducing the number of recharges done by a customer during a year and it would also facilitate consumers in making a more informed tariff-related choice.

The telecom regulator has further stated that the service provider shall also offer at least one plan voucher, one special tariff voucher, and one combo voucher which shall be renewable on the same date of every month.

The TRAI said this is being done in a bid to make the plans consumer-friendly and explained that with the amendment, the users will have more options to choose service offerings of appropriate validity and duration.

In May last year, the regulator had floated a consultation paper asking all stakeholders whether it should intervene in the matter. This had come after TRAI received several complaints including ones where consumers said they were being made to do 13 recharges in a year for monthly plans, thus making them feel cheated.

“The views of the stakeholders are clearly divided with service providers reiterating their preference for the continuance of present forbearance regime with regard to validity period of tariff offers,” TRAI said while detailing the responses of the telcos and other stakeholders.