Lifetime validity offers come under Trai scanner

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will investigate the viability of the lifetime validity offers made by various cellular operators.

"We will look into all aspects concerning these schemes and may take action, if required," a Trai official said. He added that the telecom regulator would come out with its report on the matter soon.

Almost all the cellular operators are now offering lifetime validity pre-paid cards with one-time entry fee. The trend was started by Tata Teleservices and all operators, including Hutch, Bharti, Reliance Infocomm, Tatas, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, followed suit.

This is despite the fact that when Tata Teleservices first introduced the service, it was strongly opposed by the Cellular Operators' Association of India, which had said the company was engaging in predatory pricing.

The Sunil Mittal-owned Bharti launched a lifetime validity card with one-time fee of Rs 999 followed by Hutch. Tata-Birla owned Idea Cellular offered similar services in both pre-paid and post-paid segments raising doubt over the viability of these schemes.