Telecom regulator Trai on Thursday mandated all service providers to provide a hard copy of the bill free of cost to its post-paid subscribers. The order would be effective from January 24 and applicable across all types of tariff plans of mobile -- GSM and CDMA -- and fixed line services, Trai said in a statement in New Delhi.
Trai had proposed an amendment to Telecommunication Tariff Order for the same early this month, under which a hard copy or printed copy of the bill have to be given free of cost to all postpaid customers of telecom access service.
It said the provision of the hard copy of the bill would enable the customers to understand and satisfy themselves about the genuineness of the bill, facilitate making payments and verify the charges among other things.
The regulator said it has noted that the service providers in other sectors such as power, gas, water utility services do not charge for providing hard copies of the bill. The hard copy of the bill would always be required, as not every telecom subscriber would have access to the computer and internet to obtain their bill through e-mail, Trai said. The provision of itemised bill in respect of long distance calls free of cost has already been mandated, it added.