Trai won’t charge users for multiple SIMs

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has refuted recent media reports, claiming that the regulator planned to charge consumers holding multiple SIMs, or mobile connections.

“….some media houses have reported Trai has proposed introducing fees for mobile and landline numbers with an aim to ensure efficient allocation of finite resources. The speculation that Trai intends to impose charges on customers for holding multiple SIMs/numbering resources is unequivocally false,” the sector regulator said, in a clarification Friday on its recent discussion paper on formulating a revised national numbering plan for telecom services after factoring in resource constraints.

The telecom regulator added that the media speculation is “unfounded and serves only to mislead the public”.


In its discussion paper, issued June 6, Trai had invited industry views on whether financial disincentives must be slapped on telcos if allocated telecommunications identifier (TI) resources remained unused beyond a certain timeframe.

The TIs are a series of digits, characters and symbols, or a combination of these, used to identify a unique user of landline and mobile services. Trai believes with the advent of 5G networks, TIs will play a pivotal role in ensuring efficient communications and network management.

In its paper, Trai had invited suggestions on the need for a charging mechanism and possible charges for existing/newly allocated TI resources to ensure efficient usage.

It had noted that telcos often capitalise on market demand by offering vanity or “highly coveted” numbers at premium rates and resort to conducting auctions to maximise revenues from such number allocations.

Also that a significant number of service providers levy charges on subscribers for acquiring these preferred numbers.

It had further said that such practices not only lead to inefficient utilisation of numbering resources but also result in hoarding of numbering resources. “Hence, it may be prudent to consider charging TSPs with a nominal fee against numbering resource allocated.” Trai has said in the paper.

Telcos, though, in response to the regulator’s proposals have cautioned that any move to start collecting fees on sale of numbers would result in the additional costs being passed on to consumers.

However, Trai Friday said it has consistently advocated minimum regulatory intervention and promoted forbearance and self-regulation of market forces. “We unequivocally repudiate and emphatically condemn any spurious conjectures that perpetuate the circulation of misleading information concerning the consultation paper at hand.”

At present, DoT is the custodian of TI resources in India and oversees its allocation for both landline and mobile networks in sync with the International Telecommunication Union's global standards.