HC issues notices to telcos over extra SMS charges

Those who’ve been annoyed over paying additional charges for SMS sent on special occasions like festivals, New Year and so on, could possibly heave a sigh of relief now. The Madras High Court has issued notices to 10 telecom operators asking to bar such extra charges, reports TOI. While you subscribe to a telecom service, the company offers lucrative packages of certain free minutes and SMSes, which proves futile as they hike the price during festivities, when you need to use the mobile most.

Why extra charges on SMS during special occasions?

The High Court sent a petition asking companies and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to ban such a sudden hike. The petitioner, Arunachalam suggests an interim stay on undue and sudden hikes. He says that regardless of tariff plans, mobile operators charge Rs 1.50 per SMS on December 31. He states that last year SMS revenue of the companies was Rs.100 crore.

Notices have been sent to TRAI chairperson and Zonal/Regional Managers of 10 companies, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Idea Cellular, Tata Docomo, MTS Mobile, BSNL and Videocon.