TRAI has asked Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Vodafone Idea Ltd. to put on hold promised faster speeds plans to certain priority users, as it questioned whether the network preference.
Telecom Regulator Authority of India (TRAI) has directed telecom companies Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to hold their premium postpaid plans offering faster speeds plan. Both companies provide better facilities to their premium postpaid users than other users through Airtel Platinum and RedX postpaid plans respectively. Both companies promise to give users better internet speed than other users in these postpaid plans. Because of which these users are given priority over other users.
According to an online report, TRAI has instructed both telecom service providers to discontinue this specific plan with immediate effect. TRAI has written a letter to both operators asking questions about this premium postpaid plan. In its letter, the regulator has told both companies that if a customer pays more money then why are they being given priority for basic services?
In fact, for a long time, questions were being raised that a priority network has been created by declining the services of other customers. The regulator has also asked the question whether preferential paying customers in those specific plans came at the cost of declining service to other customers? TRAI has asked both operators how they are protecting the interests of other common customers.
Following this TRAI order, an Airtel spokesperson said, “We are full of enthusiasm to provide the best network and service to all our customers.” An Airtel spokesperson further said that along with this the company wants to increase service and accountability for postpaid customers. TRAI has given 7 days to Airtel to answer it.
Notably, Airtel had announced recently that postpaid users who pay Rs 499 or more per month will be given preference over the 4G network. These users will be provided better internet speed than other users. Vodafone-Idea has likewise launched its RedX postpaid plans, in which customers have promised to provide data at 50 percent better speed than other customers.
A Vodafone-Idea spokesperson said, “The Vodafone RedX plan offers many other benefits to our valued postpaid customers, including unlimited data, calls, premium services, international roaming packs.” He said that the company is committed to providing the best and high-speed 4G data services to its customers.
