Trai proposes to withdraw 50 paise charge on SMS beyond daily limit of 100

New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Tuesday proposed to do away with a fixed rate of 50 paise for each SMS sent beyond a daily limit of 100 messages per SIM.

In its tariff order in November 2012, Trai had notified a minimum rate of 50 paise to curb the menace of pesky messages.

“With the introduction of TCCCPR (Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations) 2018, it is felt that regulation of tariff for SMS may not be required.

“Accordingly, the draft Telecommunication Tariff (65th Amendment) Order, 2020 proposes withdrawal of regulatory provisions relating to the tariff for SMS introduced by the Telecommunication Tariff (54th Amendment) Order,” Trai said in draft Telecommunication Tariff (65th Amendment) Order, 2020.

The regulator has fixed March 3 as the deadline for stakeholder comments on the draft and March 17 for counter comments.