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Our Bureau

It seeks views of stakeholders on the nature of the penalty on operators should they renege on the contract of lifetime offer.

New Delhi , Jan. 16

THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday issued a consultation paper on tariff plans with lifetime validity, raising issues including the long-term sustainability of tariff schemes with lifetime validity and protection against hike in tariffs.

"Mobile operators have marketed and offered tariff schemes promising lifetime validity (with free incoming calls). In the views of the authority, there are some issues arising out of these plans and hence it needs to consult the consumers, service providers and all other interested parties about the impact of such long-term plans with lifetime validity," TRAI said in a statement here.

The paper discusses various aspects of tariff schemes with lifetime validity and its impact both on consumer as well as the telecom sector. It poses questions on whether lifetime can exceed the balance license period of the operators.

The consultation paper also covers issues pertaining to long-term viability and sustainability of tariff schemes with lifetime validity, the concept of such validity, change in traffic patterns and Interconnect Usage Charge (IUC) regime, protection against hike in tariffs and possible measures to protect interest of consumers who subscribe to lifetime tariff plan.

It also seeks views of stakeholders on the nature of the penalty on operators should they renege on the contract of lifetime offer, the possible implications of tariff schemes with lifetime validity for the orderly growth of the telecom sector, and the need for exit options in the case of lifetime validity.

TRAI has asked the stakeholders to submit their comment on these issues by January 31, 2006.

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