![Uninor Offers Cheapest 2G Data Plans [June 2013]](http://telecomtalk.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Uninor-GPRS-packs-70x70.jpg?80e5e9)
In order to further improve transparency in Mobile services, India’s telecom watchdog Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today issued directive to all Mobile Service Providers (GSM/CDMA) prescribing additional measures with a view to enhance transparency in the matter of charging on Blackout Days.
TRAI said that Mobile operators should not charge customers on calls or SMSes beyond their existing tariff plans on ‘Blackout Days’ like Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Holi and New Year etc.
The term ‘blackout days’ refers to the days on which the service providers do not allow free or concessional voice calls/ SMS offered by them under any plan/ package. Certain guidelines are already in place as per which the number of Blackout Days shall not exceed five in a calendar year and no alteration in any such date is allowed after the package is subscribed by the consumer.
The additional measures now being mandated include the following:
(i) The charges for calls or SMSs on ‘Blackout’ Days shall not exceed the rate in the tariff plan in which the consumer is enrolled;
(ii) Consumers shall be given intimation prior to start of every Blackout Day and the date/ occasion of the Blackout Day shall also be intimated.
(iii) List of Blackout Days applicable for the calendar year shall be displayed on the website of service providers, before start of every calendar year and shall be published, service area wise, along with the tariff plans of the service provider, every six months.
Sudhakar September 18, 2012 at 6:17 am
Base plan means like Rs.0.60 / Rs.1.20 and Rs.5.00 (in case of local / STD / ISD SMS in Tata docomo) or base SMS tariff of Rs.1 for local SMS and Rs.1.50 for STD SMS?.
If they charge (as if I have used the SMS limit) on the festival days, then its if no use. Most operators are charging like that only.
ENAUD September 17, 2012 at 10:21 am
@Sudhakar
@ SUDHAKAR – its quite clear – on BLACKOUT DAYS operators charged “extra” ie Normal Local/National SMS rates, over and above any pack already subscribed to.
What is not clear ????
>> Don’t charge extra means?. Free or as usual charging at whooping rates?. Telecomtalk,make it clear.
Pike September 17, 2012 at 7:43 am
I heard tat videocon is going to acquired by Reliance tat’s why recently it disconnects the number and asked to submit the proof (not every subscribers , only inadeqate proof) in order to transfer the subscriber database to Reliance !
Saurabh September 16, 2012 at 8:38 pm
I’m sorry if the words by me hurt you. I was really feeling too bad while using that words as I don’t use such words for anyone but your repeated queries made me wrote that. I sincerely apologize for that.
You had asked, why Videocon has stopped STV and other recharges in Tamil Nadu and in my previous posts in various topics I’ve told that as Videocon has its liceses cancelled by Supreme Court, it is difficult for them to bid for Tamil Nadu circle at such a higher cost.
Govt/DoT has fixed Rs.1232.36 crores as reserve price for Tamil Nadu circle which is too high for a company like Videocon. They are not in a situation to bid at such a high cost for A category circles. So they are wrapping up their business in Tamil Nadu even before the deadline of Jan 18, 2013 given by Supreme Court.
But I can’t say 100% that they will not participate in the auction. But which circle they choose depends on them. I and you can’t force any company to continue their operations whether it is Tamil Nadu or Haryana.
Videocon has also stopped FRCs/STV in Haryana also from September 11.
Sudhakar September 16, 2012 at 1:29 pm
Saurabh :
If you are dumb about videocon, then I also don’t know fully about the RTI (Reliance, Tata docomo and Idea) operations in Tamilnadu.
Saurabh September 16, 2012 at 12:33 pm
I’m not silent but you are definately deaf.
What I can do if your blind eyes can’t see, your noobie mind can’t understand and your deaf ears can’t listen? Go to page no.6 of this blog and read my comments in article with headline, Etisalat Not to bid in India’s 2G auction, where I have clarified the situation of companies who have lost their licenses.
I’ve given answers many times that why Videocon stopped recharges in Tamil Nadu and other circles where they were operating but I don’t know what’s the problem with you that is making you ask the same question again and again.
Sudhakar September 16, 2012 at 6:48 am
To Saurabh :
why are you silent on Tamilnadu Videocon’s issue (STV not getting activated, etc) which will shutdown its operation?.
Abhijith September 15, 2012 at 11:27 pm
@Sudhakar
lol . . Am not considering Vodafone as a good operator . . Only they have coverage . . But their other services are 3rd rated
Saurabh September 15, 2012 at 11:17 pm
@ Sudhakar
I think you badly need to enlighten yourself on what’s going on in telecom sector and for whom auction is?
This is the fourth time I’ve seen you posting about Reliance GSM and Tata Docomo participation in bidding.
Why would Anil Ambani’s company Reliance GSM bid for spectrum when they haven’t lost any licenses?As far as Tata Docomo is concerned they lost license in 3 circles/states only and bid for them.
This auction is for those who have either lost their licenses after Supreme Court verdict like Uninor, Videocon, MTS, Loop Mobile, S-Tel and want to retain them or for fresh entrants who haven’t entered India yet.
For those operators who are established like Airtel, Aircel, Idea, Vodafone, Reliance, Tata Docomo (except 3 circles) there is an option for them to buy extra spectrum as 3.75MHz per circle will be available for them out of total 13.75MHz and these operators can bid only for 2 blocks i.e they can add a maximum of 2.5MHz in their account. I don’t want to explain things again and again.
I request you to study things in deep and if you can’t do so, stop making useless comments.
Sudhakar September 15, 2012 at 10:02 pm
I think Videocon Tamilnadu is also going to shutdown like Uninor. STVs not getting activated. No proper response even after reporting in PG PORTAL.
To all Videocon (Tamilnadu) users :
Please port out to some other operator as early as possible and atleast save your number !!!.
Sudhakar September 15, 2012 at 9:53 pm
To Abhijith and Saurabh :
See, I think the situation of IDEA, Reliance GSM and Tata docomo (worst coverage) is not as bad as Uninor.
IDEA – Aditya birla group
Reliance GSM – Ambani group
Tata docomo – Tatas
So they will any how bid again and win the auction. But if government tells them to pay the spectrum fees again, the above 3 operators will increase the call rate and thus be equal to AAV (Airtel, Aircel and Vodafone) group.
Tamilnadu Vodafone idiots charge a whooping Rs.325 for a bonus card which gives local on net calls at Rs.0.10 and local offnet mobile calls at Rs.0.30 and all STD mobiles at Rs.0.70. All per minute with 90 days validity !!!!. Very costly and dizzying operator !!!!.
Abhijith September 15, 2012 at 5:01 pm
@ Sudhakar
i got this news from poorvika mobile retailer . .
Saurabh September 15, 2012 at 4:57 pm
@Sudhakar, @Abhijith,
As per Supreme Court verdict dated 02/02/2012, Idea Cellular has lost their licenses for 9 circles which includes Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kolkata, North East, Orrisa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu incl. Chennai and West Bengal and they will have to bid in the upcoming auction to continue services in these circles. Punjab and Karnataka are the exceptions as Idea took over Spice Telecom there, so they already have one license for these two circles and I don’t think they will bid for second license again.
But there are more chances of Idea retaining licenses for their lost circles in order to continue being a Pan-India operator. In any case Idea fails to get license in any of these 7 circles, they will have to shut down operations.
Sudhakar September 15, 2012 at 4:06 pm
To abhijith :
No. Please do not believe in / spread rumours.
Sudhakar September 15, 2012 at 3:57 pm
In my reliance GSM number (Tamilnadu), they are charging Rs.0.05 per SMS on normal days. So this TRAI rule means that I will be charged the same Rs.0.05 per SMS or more?.
What will happen if I have subscribed to SMS pack?.
abhijith September 15, 2012 at 3:36 pm
i heard a news IDEA going to stop its service in TAMILNADU is it true ????
Raghu September 15, 2012 at 2:55 pm
actually it is good move but still not enough. the STVs should be applicable in blackout days. what wrong did the customers do by sending msgs on Festival Days. TRAI have to interfere and ensure that no blackout day is there.
Kunal September 15, 2012 at 12:20 pm
Good one, MTNL has no blackout days any which ways !!!!
Manash September 15, 2012 at 11:26 am
No It is not a Sleeping Dog….Still Its a watch Dog whoes eyes were blind…..Blind Watch Dog…@Chinnu
Sougata Das September 15, 2012 at 11:19 am
Lets see how operators handle this issue… after all its a good verdict in favor of consumers..
Sanjay Bafna September 15, 2012 at 11:15 am
It meant operator can charge SMS Rates as per ‘customers Basic Plan’ while Blackout days.
Earlier some operators (most of leading pvt operators) charging Rs.2 per SMS on festive days/Blackout days. So TRAI issues this directive as additional measures to prevent/protect customers interest citing tariff regulation.
However this directive not applicable on SMS STVs / Discounted Voice plan STVs or SMS Packs.
Saurabh September 15, 2012 at 11:10 am
Videocon has finally stopped STV and FRC recharges in Haryana. I first thought they will continue here till Jan 18 but now it is clear to some extent that they are going to wrap up their business.
I don’t know whether they are keen to participate in auction or not as, if they are, they wouldn’t have stopped providing services. Only time will tell now. Videocon lost million subscriber mark last month and as they told that they will scale down operation in circles where subscriber base is less than this mark, they did the same in Haryana.
People in Haryana need not to worry as Aircel is much cheaper than Videocon at current point of time and their network is also better than Videocon. Aircel haven’t lost any licenses and their license is valid till 20/09/2020 for Haryana circle. So, it doesn’t matter whether Videocon stay or not.
I never ever got good coverage at our home as tower is too das but services either voice or sms worked well within coverage. I took their SIM in October last year for Rs.15 to check network coverage in my area and as it was very weak -91 to -97dBm and sometimes no signal indoor, I recharged it only twice with Rs.20 and Rs.50 in last 11 months. Last recharge was in Feb this year. I was about to recharge it now with 107 but now I won’t do it. So total revenue from me to Videocon was just Rs.85. Lol
But people in Punjab have every reason to joy as Videocon’s license is not cancelled there. Videocon has big investment plans in Punjab not only in Telecom but also in other areas like D2H, LCD/LED TV’s and other appliances. They have setup a manufacturing unit for Television and other appliances near Mohali, also a call centre is planned in Jalandhar, you can see hundreds of advertising banners related to their DTH and GSM services in every city of Punjab. So, they are betting big on Punjab which made me think that they will continue services in Haryana/Himachal too as these being neighbouring states but now hope has fade.
Avtar singh kaint September 15, 2012 at 11:03 am
good news ……….
sand87 September 15, 2012 at 10:24 am
@ Sudhakar
like in my case the normal sms tariff rate was 10p/sms as per the plan but on blackout days bsnl used to charge 80p/sms for the same sms.so this directive means that bsnl should charge 10p/sms(in my case) even on blackout days!!!Thats wat it means
Chinnu September 15, 2012 at 10:03 am
What happen to the Broadband speed should be minimum 512kbps on all FUP Plans? still today no steps taken so many operators still have that 256kbps plans… Its not Watchdog… Sleeping Dog….
Vishnu NJ September 15, 2012 at 10:00 am
@ Sudhakar I will explain you.. According to my plan I have 2000 sms free per month.. If i send more than that each sms costs Rs0.10 (10ps). But on black out day they were charging Rs.1/sms.. From now on they can only charge 10ps/sms.. Yeey
Sunil September 15, 2012 at 8:49 am
If blackout dayr are to be removed then why carriers need to mention blackout days in website.
TRAI fool
Pike September 15, 2012 at 7:52 am
Telecomtalk members pls share the real condition of the VIDEOCON SERVICES !
Amit Kumar September 15, 2012 at 7:27 am
So one more directive issued by TRAI. But do telecom operators follow all these directives ???? Has TRAI taken any action on the erring operators so far on non compliance of the existing norms ???
Sudhakar September 15, 2012 at 6:59 am
Don’t charge extra means?. Free or as usual charging at whooping rates?. Telecomtalk,make it clear.
S. Roy September 15, 2012 at 6:30 am
Bureaucracy and red-tape is not only present in Government enterprises. The delay in implementing these policies by the private sector show that they are no better.