Have you ever wondered why telecom companies sell you only data plans? TRAI has asked the same question to Airtel, Jio, Vodafone-Idea. TRAI had asked that why don’t you give users the option of only calling and messaging plans? At present, all the plans available are not only for calls and messages.
Talking about the existing plans, almost every pack either has only data or calling and messaging service along with data. In such a situation, if someone is using internet through home broadband and is using the mobile only for calling and messaging, then why is he paying extra money for data?
TRAI has said that there are many users in India who use feature phones. In such a situation, obviously they do not need the data. But all plans come with data. The plans are expensive because they come with data. If plans without data are launched then they can be much cheaper than the existing plans.
TRAI has kept many facts in its consultation paper which makes it clear that companies should offer only calls and messaging plans. For example, why is data being forcefully sold to senior citizens who use broadband at home, or only use feature phones? Many people use internet only on their smartphones through broadband at home.
TRAI has also told the telecom companies that calling and messaging plans will have to be brought for long term also. Because companies can save money by bringing plans for 14 or 28 days. In such a situation, TRAI has said that call and message plans with long validity should be introduced.
According to the report, it was said by the telecom companies that if they launch plans without data then Digital India will suffer losses. Because people will use the internet less and Digital India will not run properly. The companies have also said that things should continue as they are.
If telecom companies listen to TRAI and launch only calling and messaging plans, then the plans can become cheaper. Because every plan contains data and due to this the plans become expensive.
In such a situation, if plans are launched without data, any plan can be launched at almost half the price. In such a situation, users can keep their SIM active for a long time at low cost.