Trai wants one-year validity data packs to woo first-time telecom users

Trai launches 'MyCall' app that enables subscribers to rate the quality of a phone call

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has “advised” the operators to launch at least one data pack with single payment that has exclusive data benefits and a validity of 365 days.

Trai said data packs with longer validity would be useful for wooing many first-time users as the inconvenience in the form of compulsion to charge at regular intervals would be removed.

This is, however, an advisory and not binding on telecom operators

In August last year, the sectoral regulator had allowed an increase in validity for mobile data packs to 365 days from up to 90 days.

Trai said it had noticed that while a few operators had launched pure data special tariff vouchers (STVs) with up to 365 days validity, most of them either prescribed conditions of subsequent recharges for extending data benefits for 12 months or had not launched any pure data STV with more than 90 days validity.

The Authority said the demand of longer validity data packs came from the industry and it was supported by all stakeholders during the consultation process. However, telecom operators did not launch any such packs.

Regulator launches mobile apps

Trai on Monday launched a host of mobile applications and a portal. It launched ‘ MyCall’ app that enables subscribers to rate the quality of a phone call.

“The application will help mobile phone users rate their experience about voice call quality in real time,” Trai said, adding that it would help the Authority gather customer experience data along with network data.

Callers will have to select the rating in the form of stars and indicate whether the calls were made indoor, outdoor or while travelling. They can also provide additional details such as noise or audio delay and mark a call drop, if they believe that is how the call got terminated.

Trai has also rolled out an update to its MySpeed app, which allows customers to measure 3G/4G data speeds and send the results to the regulator.

Also, Trai upgraded its 'Do Not Disturb' app with new features like an intelligent spam detection engine and updates about action taken on complaints within the app.