Mobile users to pay for phone numbers? Trai makes this big clarification

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has denied reports of the government charging customers for holding multiple SIM cards. “The speculation that TRAI intends to impose charges on customers for holding multiple SIMs/numbering resources is unequivocally false. Such claims are unfounded and serve only to mislead the public,” the telecom regulator has said.

TRAI’s consultation paper on revision of National Numbering Plan

In an official statement, the telecom regulator said that the Department of Telecom (DoT) being the sole custodian of telecommunication identifiers (TI) resources, had approached TRAI through its reference dated 29 September 2022, seeking recommendations of TRAI on revised National Numbering Plan (NNP) for undertaking efficient management and judicious utilization of numbering resources in the country.
In this regard, TRAI recently released a consultation paper seeking recommendations on revised National Numbering Plan for undertaking efficient management and judicious utilization of numbering resources in the country. The telecom authority said that “was issued with an aim to assess all factors currently affecting the allocation and utilization of Telecommunication Identifier (TI) resources”.
“TRAI has consistently been advocative of minimum regulatory intervention promoting forbearance and the self-regulation of market forces,” the telecom regulator said. “We unequivocally repudiate and emphatically condemn any spurious conjectures that perpetuate the circulation of such misleading information concerning the consultation paper at hand,” it added.

TRAI urges all stakeholders to refer to official press release

In its official statement, TRAI requested all stakeholders as well as the general public to refer to the official press release for accurate information.