TRAI’s new consumer protection rules will require telecom operators to expand voice-and-SMS-only recharge options, including plans with 30-day or shorter validity and monthly renewal choices, by October 21, 2026.
October 21 Becomes the Key Compliance Date
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) notified the Telecom Consumers Protection (13th Amendment) Regulations, 2026 on September 22. The amended rules take effect 30 days after their publication in the Official Gazette, putting October 21 at the centre of the rollout timeline being reported for operators.
The regulation requires telecom service providers to offer voice-and-SMS-only Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs) corresponding to each bundled voice, SMS and data STV with a validity of 30 days or less. Operators must also provide a voice-and-SMS-only voucher that can be renewed on the same date every month, with the last day of the month used where that date does not exist.
In addition, operators must offer at least one longer-validity voice-and-SMS-only STV corresponding to a longer-validity bundled STV. This expands the range of standalone calling options beyond the longer-validity packs that operators had previously introduced.
TRAI Has Not Set a Fixed Percentage Price Cut
One important clarification is that the final regulation does not require a mathematically proportional reduction in the price of every voice-only pack.
TRAI’s final wording calls for an “appropriate reduction” in tariff for voice-and-SMS-only STVs. The April 2026 draft had proposed a “largely proportional reduction”, but the regulator changed the language in the final rules after considering operator submissions and the different ways telecom companies price data across their tariff portfolios.
TRAI has discussed average revenue realisation per GB of wireless data as a relevant reference for pricing. The figure fell to Rs 7.51 per GB in the January-March 2026 quarter from Rs 9.11 a year earlier. However, Rs 7.51 is not a mandatory formula that operators must apply to every voice-only recharge.
Jio, Airtel and Vi Had Opposed the Proposal
The October deadline comes after strong objections from India’s three major private telecom operators during the consultation process.
Reliance Jio argued that standalone voice services are technically different on modern 4G and 5G networks, where voice is delivered over an IP-based network infrastructure. Jio also questioned whether there was sufficient consumer demand for a large number of voice-only STVs and raised concerns about the possible misuse of very low-cost voice plans.
Bharti Airtel argued that India’s mobile market has become increasingly data-centric and said its existing low-priced plans already provide options for customers who primarily need voice services. Airtel also raised concerns that prescribing tariff reductions could interfere with the commercial flexibility operators have traditionally had in setting prices.
Vodafone Idea similarly raised concerns about the economics of removing data from bundled plans, pointing to network and operational costs that remain even when a customer consumes little or no mobile data.
These were submissions made during TRAI’s consultation and represent the operators’ positions, rather than findings made by the regulator.
Why Voice-Only Plans Matter
TRAI’s intervention is aimed at consumers who do not require regular mobile data. This includes some feature-phone users, elderly consumers, secondary-SIM users and customers who primarily use their mobile connection for calls and SMS.
The figure of around 150 million feature-phone users has appeared in discussions around the earlier voice-only mandate. Business Standard cited TRAI data in December 2024 showing about 150 million feature-phone users in India. That figure should not, however, be interpreted as 150 million people currently being forced to purchase unused data.
Consumer submissions to TRAI have also specifically highlighted low-income households, secondary-phone users and people who use phones mainly for voice calls as groups that could benefit from standalone voice-and-SMS options.
What Changes for Jio, Airtel and Vi
The immediate requirement is not that every existing prepaid plan must simply have its data allowance removed. Instead, operators have to create corresponding voice-and-SMS-only STVs for the relevant validity periods covered by the regulation.
That means the actual consumer impact will depend on how Jio, Airtel, Vi and other operators structure their portfolios before October 21. The regulation leaves room for operators to determine the final tariffs, while requiring an appropriate reduction for plans that exclude data.
The new framework therefore puts the focus on the next stage of the tariff battle: how operators translate TRAI’s broader consumer-protection requirement into actual recharge prices and validity options.
