TRAI Scraps 100 Messages Per Day Rule

Almost all telecom players have launched prepaid packs, where they are offering unlimited calls and 100 messages per day. However, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has now issued new regulations under 'Telecommunication Tariff (65th Amendment) Order 2020'.

Under these new regulations, users are allowed to send more than 100 messages in a day. Besides, TRAI has scrapped that provision where telcos were allowed to charge 50 paise per message once the limits end.

"The deletion of Schedule XIII thus implies another step of Trai in doing away of the tariff regulation and strengthening the regime of tariff forbearance," TRAI said while issuing new orders for SMS.

The new provision will allow telcos to charge money to those who send bulk messages, especially for commercial purposes. Besides, the new development will be beneficial for all customers, as earlier telemarketers were sending promotional messages. In addition, the telecom regulator has asked operators to come up with new ways to stop SPAM messages.

"Considering the comprehensiveness of TCCCPR 2018 in dealing with the menace of UCC, it was felt that the tariff regulation, which has the potential of adversely affecting the interests of genuine non-commercial bulk users of SMS, is no longer required and therefore can be removed," TRAI added. This seems a really good move by the regulator as it enables feature phones to remain connected during this pandemic.

Some Popular Prepaid Plans That Comes With 100 Messages And Other Benefits

Let's start with Reliance Jio's plans, the Rs. 249 pack ships 2GB data per day for 28 days along 100 messages. Then, there's Rs. 199 plan, where you get 1.5GB data per day along with 100 messages for 28 days. The Rs. 149 plan enables you to use 1GB data per day for 24 days. It includes 100 messages per day along with unlimited calling on the same network. Similarly, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea are offering plans with 100 messages, unlimited calling, and 1GB, 2GB, 3GB of 2G, 3G, and 4G data with their prepaid packs.