AIRTEL AND OTHER COMPANIES EXTEND THE VALIDITY OF PRE- PAID PLANS TILL 3RD MAY: DETAILS LISTED!

Telecom operators like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have announced extension of validity of pre- paid mobile accounts of low- income customers till 3rd May. This news comes after Reliance Jio announced a similar extension for all customers during Lockdown. 

Vodafone Idea Limited has announced that low income customers who use prepaid services will receive incoming calls till 3rd May even upon expiration of their package. JioPOS lite app has been built and launched to persuade customers to recharge for others. 

“Many of these customers have been able to recharge through several channels activated by Airtel including - ATMs, post Offices, grocery stores and chemist shops, in addition to digital channels. However, close to 30 million such customers have still not been able to recharge their pre-paid mobile accounts," Airtel said in a statement

According to a report from news agency PTI, Jio and other telecom companies approached Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) regarding prepaid recharge patterns. TRAI had asked all the tele companies to provide data about the recharge patterns of prepaid customers, number of subscribers who have benefitted from the extension amongst other details. The companies requested an extension of the deadline for submitting the data till April 20. 

According to report from Livemint, on 9th April, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) noted that “to ensure continuity of service to the citizens, who are at the bottom of the pyramid and are not in a position to recharge their prepaid services, member operators had provided extended validity for continuation of their services and talk time benefits to enable them to make essential calls.”