Vodafone Idea (Vi) had appealed against the new Mobile Number Portability (MNP) order rolled out by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). However, in its ruling, TDSAT has stayed TRAI’s order and asked Vodafone Idea to comply with the order. At the same time, the appellate tribunal said that the issue requires consideration; regardless, Vi can’t go against the order of TRAI. According to an ET Telecom report, Vodafone Idea now might move to the Supreme Court against TDSAT’s order.
Vodafone Idea Doesn’t Want Customers Without SMS Benefits to be able to Port Out
Vodafone Idea already offers the most expensive prepaid plan with SMS benefits. Not just that, but its move against TRAI’s order shows that the telco doesn’t want its customers without SMS benefits to be able to port out of the network. Vi is desperate to hold on to its active users. This is because it has the least of them compared to Jio and Airtel. Both Jio and Airtel had complained to TRAI that Vi is restricting low-end plan users to port out from the network by offering very expensive SMS bundled prepaid plans. The TRAI had then asked all the operators to allow users to be able to send port out SMSes to 1900 even if they did not have an active SMS pack or a prepaid plan that offered SMS benefits. This has irked Vodafone Idea as it creates the risk of losing millions of low-end users who might want to shift to Jio’s networks because of lower tariffs. All the consumers across different telecom circles would have gotten a huge relief when they heard about TRAI’s order. But Vodafone Idea doesn’t want it to happen this way. The telco has not added new customers for months now and is desperate to hold on to the existing ones.
