Customers Will Not Be Charged For Having Multiple SIMs, Clarifies TRAI

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has refuted recent media reports, claiming that the regulator planned to charge consumers for holding multiple SIMs or mobile connections. In a statement released on June 14, the regulator clarified that such reports are completely false and added that those claims serve only to mislead the public.

"The speculation that TRAI intends to impose charges on customers for holding multiple SIMs/numbering resources is unequivocally false. Such claims are unfounded and serve only to mislead the public," said TRAI in the statement. The Indian telecom regulator issued this clarification on its recent discussion paper on "‘Revision of National Numbering Plan’.

According to TRAI, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had approached the regulator through its reference dated September 29, 2022, seeking its recommendations on the revised National Numbering Plan. Accordingly, the consultation paper released on June 6 aims to assess all factors currently affecting the allocation and utilization of Telecommunication Identifier (TI) resources. TRAI also highlighted that the paper also aims to propose amendments that would "refine allocation policies and utilization procedures."

The telecom regulator said that its consultation process is founded on principles of transparency and inclusivity. "We unequivocally repudiate and emphatically condemn any spurious conjectures that perpetuate the circulation of such misleading information concerning the consultation paper at hand," added TRAI.