In order to further improve transparency in telecom tariff offers, India’s telecom watchdog Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today issued a Direction to all Telecom / Mobile service providers on preventing ‘misleading tariff’ advertisements.
TRAI said that every advertisement published by mobile/telecom service providers must be transparent and non-misleading and the design, including paper size, color, font type and font size, tone and volume of the advertisement is legible, audible and unambiguous.
TRAI Illustrated some of the misleading advertisements by Mobile /Telecom service operators as follows :
(i) Advertising a particular call rate as ‘Per Second’ or ‘Per Minute’ would be misleading in cases where the pulse rate is higher than ‘One Second’ or ‘One Minute’. Thus, declaration of call rate as ‘½ paisa or ¼ paisa per second’ would mislead if the actual rate is 1 paisa per two seconds or 1 paisa per four seconds. Similarly, to present a call rate as ‘40 paise per minute’, would be misleading if the actual call rate is Rs.1.20 per 3 minutes.
(ii) Advertising a reduced call rate as invitational call rate would be misleading, if it involves a ‘start-up charge’ or call set-up charge’ in addition to the declared rate or if the first minute usage attracts a higher charge than the stated rate. For example, presenting the call rate ‘@ 29 paise per minute’ in situations where there is a call set-up charge of 39 paise would be misleading because the first minute usage would attract 68 paise and not the declared 29 paise per minute.
(iii) Advertisement of a specific reduced call rate/SMS charge would be misleading if it does not indicate that such reduced rate is applicable only after some usage. For example, ‘1 paisa per SMS’, would be misleading if 1 paisa per SMS becomes applicable only after the first SMS which is charged at the base rate/higher rate.
(iv) Advertising or presenting a tariff plan under a title which suggests absence of rental would be misleading if the tariff plan has recurring mandatory fixed charge in one form or other. Tariff plans with titles ‘Zero Rental’, ‘Rental Free’ etc. come under this category.
(v) Advertising a specific call rate or SMS charge would be misleading if such rates are applicable to only on-network usage and such vital restrictions are not conveyed explicitly in the advertisement. For example, ‘Call @ 50 Paise Per Minute’ without mentioning that the rate is applicable only for calls within the network of the service provider, would be misleading.
(vi) Advertising the titles of the tariff plans or other packages/schemes, which suggest unlimited usage, will be treated as misleading in situations where the features of such plan/scheme package put restrictions on the quantum of usage in any manner including by way of Fair Usage Policy etc. on the usage. Thus, a plan advertised, as ‘unlimited free calls’ would mislead if there is daily limit or ceiling on the total minute of usage either by way of fair usage policy or otherwise. For a common man the term ‘Unlimited’ would only mean without any limit whatsoever.
(vii) Advertising a discounted call rate/SMS charge would be misleading if such discounted rate is applicable only during specific duration of time/ period. For example, ‘Call @ 10 Paise’ in situations where this rate is valid for off-peak /night, would be misleading.
(viii) Advertising a tariff plan as ‘Per Second Plan’, if the per second based tariff is valid for some particular duration only. For example, plans with per second billing for initial one year after which the subscribers would be moved to the base per minute bill plan.
(ix) Advertising a discounted rate without mentioning the fixed fee component to be paid by the subscriber for availing such discounted rate would be misleading in situations where such conditions are not explicitly stated in the advertisement. For example, ‘call @ 30 paise per minute for six months’, would be a misleading advertisement if a recurring fixed charge is compulsory to avail the benefit.
(x) Advertising a scheme/pack as ‘Free’ would be misleading if there is a cap on the daily usage and such cap is not conveyed in the advertisement.
(xi) Advertising a specific discounted STD/ISD as general rate would bemisleading if such STD/ISD rates are applicable only in respect of calls to specific regions/countries. For example, ‘STD calls @ 40 paisa per minute’, if the rates are applicable only for southern states. Similarly,a ‘gulf-pack offering ISD calls at Rs.2, but the rates are only valid for UAE would be misleading if the factual position is not clearly conveyed in the Advertisement.
(xii) Advertisement that omits certain vital terms and conditions attached to a set of tariff such as the ‘validity period’ would be misleading in situations where such declared tariff benefit is available only for a specific period. For example, ‘for Rs.20 make all local calls at 10 paise per minute and STD at 20 paise per minute’, in situations where the validity of the said concessional offer is limited to a period of 5 days only and this fact is not clearly reflected in the advertisement.
Do let us know if you like or dislike this new directives by TRAI , will this help the customers in better transparency ? Do share your views via comments.
Panda Nirakar March 30, 2012 at 2:59 pm
Similar misleading advertisement is seen with reliance which says unlimited internet with rs.169 for certain cities, although my village falls in this category but neither retailers are willing/able to resister for the said service nor the company could activate upon request from the customer. Best thing is that the customer care is keep on lodging service request 175441322 and after 5 days again a new complaint has been relodged 175824716 and waiting for 5more days to come. I am sure that there is no such services available and they are just trapping the customer by such advertisement and compelling them to use the higher denomination recharges once you purchase the data card. Dear reliance please stop such marketing practice….
dskushwaha March 29, 2012 at 3:47 am
What about “Make all calls @ 30 Paisa” when this is applicable to local calls only and not for STD?
Jay March 28, 2012 at 11:23 pm
When will TRAI get rid of the Blackout Days concept???
Earlier, there used to be many unlimited SMS plans and many used to send lots of wishes on festivals, leading to network congestion (this should not actually happen though)… Now TRAI has set the limit of 200 SMS per day & hence there will not be such “so-called” congestion.
The operators are just exploiting the situation & it’s disgusting to see TRAI not doing any thing on this !!!!
jagan March 28, 2012 at 6:10 pm
Welcoming one from TRAI , but how far it is to be effective is a ?¿ By the way all unlimited are really unlimited unlike
unlimited upto 2000 mins,
unlimited upto 1 gb gprs,
unlimited upto 750 sms…..
NO MORE LIMITS FOR UNLIMITED ! It’s definitely an eye opener to illiterates !
amit agarwal March 28, 2012 at 5:27 pm
in order to get good customers trai should set up the start up kit price up to rs 200 for all companies .this will help in reducing false customer base.onlyb quality customers
amit agarwal March 28, 2012 at 5:26 pm
in order to get good customers trai should set up the start up kit price up to rs 200 for all companies .this will help in reducing false customer base
PD March 28, 2012 at 3:45 pm
Right, who cares the directives ? It is like manifesto !
S.A.Rahman March 27, 2012 at 11:37 pm
Almost every operator has xgb of free unlimited data for yrupees of recharge
Kaushik Roy March 27, 2012 at 10:22 pm
TRAI SHOULD ALSO ELIMINATE 1.2P/S AND 1.5P/S TARIFF
IT SHOULD BE EITHER 1P/S OR 2P/S
HOW ONE CAN ROUNDED OFF SECOND RATES ?
IS IT ATHLETICS RACE ?
Soumya March 27, 2012 at 5:00 pm
Gourav March 27, 2012 at 4:45 pm
@Lalit
but no other operator expect airtel not doing like this..
gaurav March 27, 2012 at 3:25 pm
Slowely but good move by TRAI. Hope in future we also see some guideline regarding Network Quality.
jitesh March 27, 2012 at 2:56 pm
i appreciate it and expect more from TRAI
Kaushik Roy March 27, 2012 at 1:23 pm
Probably yes as telenor wants payback of $14 bn from Indian Govt for damage charges
ravi shekhar March 27, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Agree.BSNL validity extends from date of expiry not from date of recharge.
Anked Paralkar March 27, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Good move by TRAI! It is upto telecom operators how they implement TRAI directives….TRAI should be stringent enough with mobile operators to enhance transparency in tariff plans.
Also it should look into network quality, network coverage of each mobile operator.
Telecom operators in India are least interested to provide seamless coverage, TRAI should take this matter seriously with telecom operators or penalise for not providing quality services to Indian customers.
Mobile services in India – low tariffs but pathetic network coverage and horrible customer services.
Esmail March 27, 2012 at 12:04 pm
I noticed the same thing with Uninor with USSD code *222*2*# which gives more details than *222*2# I hope this is not an indication of their service being in Jeopardy..
Sahil Shah March 27, 2012 at 11:56 am
and i called cc he told me that i will need to rc with 33rs which i am afraid will increase my call rates.. i checked the site in which i saw pyari jodi stvs of rs 30, 55 and 80 giving free call mins and with 30, 60 and 90 days of validity respectively so can any one tell me about this stvs…
Sahil Shah March 27, 2012 at 11:52 am
i am using pyari jodi plan. i recharged my acc yest but did not get validity now my validity is gettin over in 20 days so by what amt should i recharge with? i am an old customer so i am charged all at 1p/sec and my landline is still unlimited and no 30 mins restriction. so after i recharge will i get the above tariff or i will be charged 1.2p/sec for offnet from now on?? help plz..
Amit Kumar Das March 27, 2012 at 11:27 am
Uninor has stopped showing account validity at *222*2#
Is this an indication that they may stop service anytime?
Sushil March 27, 2012 at 11:12 am
Excellent Initiative by TRAI this time
Anoop March 27, 2012 at 10:57 am
I fully agree with u. BSNL has the most complicated plan details on their website.
DB March 27, 2012 at 10:55 am
@Soumya
@ SOUMYA you have LOTS OF ATTITUDE !!! Someone (ROY) is trying to HELP YOU and you ask them to “think twice before any comment” WTF !!! Anyways with such an attitude YOU DESERVE IT. Whether BSNL “used to extend validity from the validity expiry date.” is HISTORY…. live in the PRESENT not the PAST … WAKE UP!!!
>> I have asked the BSNL customer care. The guy told me that validity will be extended and it will not be counted from the date of recharge. And for your kind information, previously BSNL used to extend validity from the validity expiry date. So think twice before any comment
DB March 27, 2012 at 10:46 am
@Jay
@ JAY … BAD IDEA … you want operators to INVEST in an IVR which caters to careless people ? Its cheaper to spend Rs 1-2 and call the 10-digit number from any mobile/landline. BAD IDEA!!
>>> All operators must be asked to provide some number (which can be called from any mob / LL ), which must enable SIM blocking just through IVRS..
The moment we lose our mobile, it gets difficult to find some one with same operator to call C.care to block the SIM.. Though most operators have C.ccare no.s which can be called from any other number, still we’ll have to go through a long IVRS to reach a C.care operator & then block the SIM. By that time our number become vulnerable to be misused..
DB March 27, 2012 at 10:41 am
@Soumya
@ SOUMYA seems you are unaware that any recharge will give the validity of the pack from the DATE OF RECHARGE … the days of cumulative validity (existing validity + new pack validity) are long since over, almost 2-3 years ago !!
>BSNL cheated me. they introduced a new validity extension STV. Rs 37 for 180days. My bsnl phone validity was upto 16th April. After recharging with STV 37 my validity should be extended to 16th October. But on recharging today I got validity upto 22nd September. That means they have calculated 180days from today. this is not a validity extension. That means you have to wait till the last date…
DB March 27, 2012 at 10:27 am
@kashif
@ KASHIF
TRAI is accessible on pgportal.gov.in – I complained againt RELIANCE GSM and got a revert the following day from Reliance Office (Mumbai).
>> TRAI is fully faaltu, I had a bad experience with TRAI… TATA DOCOMO cheated me because of wrong information given by their executive… I wrote many E-mail to TRAI. I never got a response from them… I got a response after 7 months of this incident asking me complaint no. so WHAT DO U MEANS OF T R A I…
DB March 27, 2012 at 10:22 am
@TANMOY PAUL
@ TANMOY there is a difference between a “NEWS” and a “DIRECTIVE”.
The “news” about roaming free is part of National Telecom Policy 2011 which is slated to be announced formally around April 2012 (only a Draft Proposal was released last year) – so wait, and watch… you should have incoming free on roaming (and higher local tariffs to compensate the losses due to the same) by End 2012 !!!
>> As i can see that TRAI has made rules and regulations of tarrif plans, but last year there was a news that roaming will be made free all over india by march or april..still there is no news of it.TARI are doing all unwanted things instead of doing it correctly…
siva March 27, 2012 at 10:01 am
It will be better writing all our suggestions and problems to TRAI’S grievance cell instead of writing here.
Lalit March 27, 2012 at 10:00 am
@Gourav
Customer can send a maximum of 200 SMS per day. For profitability, operator have limited their SMS limit to 90. After 90 SMS, next 110 SMS for the day will be charged as per base plan
Lalit March 27, 2012 at 9:56 am
@sri
According to TRAI guidelines, all operators have stopped using the word Unlimited. Kindly check once again please. If the word is still being used, you can file a petition against the same, if the unlimited benefits are not provided
Lalit March 27, 2012 at 9:52 am
I agree with the New TRAI guidelines. But from operator point of view, the cost of the Television commercials will go high as the number of seconds will increase. But in every outdoor advertisements, advertisements at Retail shops, we can see a small line at the bottom, Conditions Apply. All the conditions will be written
there
For the convenience of the customer, there are customer care executives to help us. We can call to the customer care team for more details. Retailer will also be aware of the plans as there will be ready reckoners of the plans with the retailers. It will be better to keep a single point retailer for to know your best plans according to usage
And before jumping upon the operators, we should know that calling rates in India are the cheapest across the world and from past 2 years, none of the operators are running with profitability
Anish March 27, 2012 at 9:14 am
@AsitPaul
Rs. 300/- (Kerala Circle) Unlimited (NO FUP) calls to any BSNL no in Kerala. Tell me which is good ??
Gourav March 27, 2012 at 8:16 am
@Ashish
in which operator i should go now?
Tata docomo or other
dskushwaha March 27, 2012 at 5:43 am
Yeah! common USSD is required by all operators for some basic operations like balance, validity, data/sms pack info etc. as some operators are using the same USSD code for VAS activation.
More over regulation should be like this:
USSD (call on CDMA) code starting from 1 should be for information about Account
USSD (call on CDMA) code starting from 2 should be for Recharging Account (Plan Only)
USSD (call on CDMA) code starting from 3 should be for Recharging Account (Topup Only)
USSD (call on CDMA) code starting from 4 should be for Recharging Account (STV Only)
USSD (call on CDMA) code starting from 5 should be for Recharging Account (data Only)
USSD (call on CDMA) code starting from 6 should be for Recharging Account (SMS Only)
USSD (call on CDMA) code starting from 7 should be for Recharging Account (VAS Only)
etc.
dskushwaha March 27, 2012 at 5:08 am
Wow! Too many rules but all are good.
The end of “Call unlimited @ just Rs. 3″ (by Tata CDMA), “Unlimited Calling @ 599 (by Reliance & TATA CDMA)”, All Unlimited Calling plans (with FUP)etc.
But there is something more to be done. Nothing is mentioned about the GPRS/EVDO/3G plans which are unlimted (so called), and/or night 2 GB, day 1 GB but sold as 3GB.
krishnendu March 27, 2012 at 1:25 am
gr8 move!hope its implemented!
aks March 27, 2012 at 12:45 am
I agree with Soumya that previously Bsnl used to extend validity from the validity expiry date. My Bsnl number is also in general plan and my validity goes to Sept 2014 bcoz of this. But now as per the TRAI rule they are bound to extend validity from the date of recharge.
TANMOY PAUL March 27, 2012 at 12:41 am
@Krishna
i agree with u krishna…airtel is the best..:)
AsitPaul March 27, 2012 at 12:41 am
Aircel North East
Rate Cutter 20
Validity 90 days
Local Calls All @1.2p/Sec
STD @1.2p/Sec
(10,000 Sec per month only, after then @2p/Sec!)
On Net Calling
RC-349
‘Unlimited’ Local Calling 10pm-6pm next day!
Fair Usage Policy of 5,000 Min per Month.
This is Aircel in NE Circle, looting consumers.
TANMOY PAUL March 27, 2012 at 12:39 am
@Soumya
bsnl are always cheaters and they will continue cheating people like this…you can better change your network to airtel
Samaira March 26, 2012 at 11:52 pm
It is a really good step because most of advts are ambiguous they say unlimited , keep it simple etc, but there many twisted terms and conditions , I hope things will change soon and India is one country I dont understand why we pay for roaming ?European countries have different countries the service providers offer them one europe tariff Its sad that we being one nation we have differnt tariffs for roaming!!!!
Raghu March 26, 2012 at 11:21 pm
It looks good. Hope the operators do follow .When will TRAI bring out a policy abt BLACKOUT days. I do not know why the operators are fleecing the customer with Blackout days. Is it not customer right to send msgs during those days. why TRAI is not coming up with a rule to stop this looting by Operators.
Soumya March 26, 2012 at 11:20 pm
I have asked the BSNL customer care. The guy told me that validity will be extended and it will not be counted from the date of recharge. And for your kind information, previously BSNL used to extend validity from the validity expiry date. So think twice before any comment
Arka March 26, 2012 at 10:59 pm
Looking some good moves by TRAI now-a-days. But,TRAI should take more and more necessary steps,which will be good and effective for common people. That’s like BLACK-OUT Day,unwanted VAS activation, faulty balance deduction. TRAI should also look at the quality of services offered by service provider,which is the first prior for the common people.
sAM March 26, 2012 at 10:41 pm
@TT, What is the deadline of this ??
Imran Ahmad March 26, 2012 at 10:23 pm
one of the great by TRAI………, to help the customers….
sri March 26, 2012 at 10:14 pm
For a common man the term ‘Unlimited’ would only mean without any limit whatsoever.
Not only for common man, for every one who understands ENGLISH, it is limtless
What about BLOCKOUT days? Why a blockout day? Is it not meaning Cashing the Consumers need?
kamlesh mehta March 26, 2012 at 10:10 pm
good move..
Bk March 26, 2012 at 10:03 pm
@sanjaybafna finally telcos will have to learn English @TelecomTalk
Jay March 26, 2012 at 10:02 pm
All operators must be asked to provide some number (which can be called from any mob / LL ), which must enable SIM blocking just through IVRS..
The moment we lose our mobile, it gets difficult to find some one with same operator to call C.care to block the SIM.. Though most operators have C.ccare no.s which can be called from any other number, still we’ll have to go through a long IVRS to reach a C.care operator & then block the SIM. By that time our number become vulnerable to be misused..
singh March 26, 2012 at 9:43 pm
Good move….:)
irfan March 26, 2012 at 9:43 pm
i think trai is trying to over regulate the indian telecom sector if we look into the matter deeply we would find that the terrif were already very clear in case of the most of the telecom companies but only the bsnl has a very complicated plan description on their website hence only bsnl needs to be improved trai should focus on network quality and service standard and these pity things should let be taken care of by the telecom companies itself
roy March 26, 2012 at 9:38 pm
BSNL has not done anything wrong to you,it is the normal practice.you get validity from that day you’ve recharged your a/c.simple rule.the stv which has longer validity will prevail.1st you shl’ve asked the retailer
ashokumar March 26, 2012 at 9:27 pm
BSNL is already following these guidelines… because they are not at all advertising anything..lol…
Nadar March 26, 2012 at 9:00 pm
Very true…
Minimum speed limits are needed to be set for 3G and Broadband also…
Minimum speed for broadband should be set at least 512 mbps or 1 mbps. 256kbps is very less in this mdoern age
Amit March 26, 2012 at 8:54 pm
Sorry to say that TRAI is a big time disappointment. They have failed to protect consumers’ interest where leading telecom operators are openly looting their subscribers. Thumbs down to TRAI. It would have been good had they closely monitored as to whether these operators are following the rules & regulations specified by TRAI. TRAI needs to take the strict action against the erring telecom operators and if it requires the cancellation of licences of telecom operators, so be it.
Ravi March 26, 2012 at 8:46 pm
Good move if apply…
Siva March 26, 2012 at 8:42 pm
100 percent i agree with u. TRAI must look into the data speed.
Soumya March 26, 2012 at 8:42 pm
BSNL cheated me. they introduced a new validity extension STV. Rs 37 for 180days. My bsnl phone validity was upto 16th April. After recharging with STV 37 my validity should be extended to 16th October. But on recharging today I got validity upto 22nd September. That means they have calculated 180days from today. this is not a validity extension. That means you have to wait till the last date…
kashif March 26, 2012 at 8:40 pm
TRAI is fully faaltu, I had a bad experience with TRAI… TATA DOCOMO cheated me because of wrong information given by their executive… I wrote many E-mail to TRAI. I never got a response from them… I got a response after 7 months of this incident asking me complaint no. so WHAT DO U MEANS OF T R A I…
Siva March 26, 2012 at 8:40 pm
100% agree with u. TRAI must look into the data speed.
baharul islam March 26, 2012 at 8:37 pm
nice work on behalf of TRAI . now would like see whether the government would implement it properly or ………… with bribe ……. . hope to see it implemented soon
Siva March 26, 2012 at 8:36 pm
Telcos have found a new meaning for “Unlimited”. Lol
saurabh gupta March 26, 2012 at 8:34 pm
Reliance Vodafone idea airtel are u listening…………… tata docomo always giv information about conditions at the bottom or sideways and in legible font size………..
narumanchianji March 26, 2012 at 8:21 pm
will you kindly indicate the email address of trai to which all consumers can take many misleading advertisements/offers. most of us know that trai is there but we do not know the email address. we are further informed in the past that trai does not accept individual complaint. is there a chnge now?
Krishna March 26, 2012 at 7:35 pm
Good move by TRAI. Most of the rules are followed by AIRTEl. I love airtel even though expenses are 10 to 20% are high.
I want another thing from trai i.e common USSD numbers from operators for Knowing balance and for VAS etc….
Vrij March 26, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Excellent set of regulations. And yes, a good boot to FUP!
tarun March 26, 2012 at 7:30 pm
good move by trai against Private telecom.Trai should also take action against worst network.
Sunil March 26, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Trai Standrise the Pulse rate to per second…Less option less confussion
Cause no one sees the condition apply austric mntiones so small
Thier should not be more than 5 plans in any network….
Anup March 26, 2012 at 7:22 pm
Thanks a lot for the new transparency rule, i hope this will bring a lot of changes in the plans and the advertisements.
VB March 26, 2012 at 7:21 pm
+1
Kanaga Deepan N March 26, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Love the point number 6… Now no bl00dy telecom operator can advertise any data pack as UNLIMITED….
TANMOY PAUL March 26, 2012 at 6:57 pm
As i can see that TRAI has made rules and regulations of tarrif plans, but last year there was a news that roaming will be made free all over india by march or april..still there is no news of it.TARI are doing all unwanted things instead of doing it correctly…
mukesh March 26, 2012 at 6:54 pm
trai has taken a very very good step
transparency in tarrif n schemes are very inmportant in telecomuunication
thanks trai
Ashish March 26, 2012 at 6:51 pm
leave Airtel…..worst operator
Saptarshi Roy March 26, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Well done TRAI.
Sri March 26, 2012 at 6:40 pm
TRAI is good only at announcing regulations… but when it comes to implementation or taking action, TRAI licks the boots of private operators. All these rules and guidelines are just an eyewash to show that TRAI is working. In actual, TRAI is ineffective and in collusion with private operators!
ved March 26, 2012 at 6:34 pm
good move by trai……….
akhilesh March 26, 2012 at 6:29 pm
to trai:-
also think about recommende Quality Of service
exapmle
1- Minimum speed of 2g internet plan
2- minimum speed of 3g broadband plan
3- max billing/bal deductin limit ammout for postpaid/prepaid on data use
Arun March 26, 2012 at 6:25 pm
Now TRAI seems to have entirely forgotten about the “Unlimited data” tariff misleadings.
Anandh March 26, 2012 at 6:24 pm
First step to customer friendly. Expecting more
teletalk March 26, 2012 at 6:20 pm
yes i am very happy for this changes and right action from trai
36755 March 26, 2012 at 6:20 pm
At least one(noticeable) government department is doing some actual & commendable work “for the citizen” which makes *at least me* hold my last bit of faith in this dirt cheap corrupt system.
Gourav March 26, 2012 at 6:16 pm
Airtel is just giving 90sms/day limit in their sms packs,but govt. have already increased the sms limit to 200/day.
som March 26, 2012 at 6:14 pm
i particularly like the point number (vi). cheating customers in the name of FUP will be stopped now hopefully. amen to that
Vinayak March 26, 2012 at 5:52 pm
Yeah good slap over the telcome giants . TRAI now seems to be more favour with customers now-a-days. Starts serving people rather than BigBs.