SERVICE WITHOUT ACCESS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF INCOMING CALL RESTRICTIONS IN INDIA’S PREPAID TELECOM REGULATION

AUTHOR – BANALA CHAITANYA* & DR. DUVVURI VENKATA NAGA PRADEEP**

* RESEARCHER AT WOXSEN UNIVERSITY

** ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF LAW, WOXSEN UNIVESITY, HYDERABAD, LL.D. SCHOLAR DSNLU

BEST CITATION – BANALA CHAITANYA & DR. DUVVURI VENKATA NAGA PRADEEP, SERVICE WITHOUT ACCESS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF INCOMING CALL RESTRICTIONS IN INDIA’S PREPAID TELECOM REGULATION, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 518-530, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract

The pace of expansion of mobile telecommunications technologies in India has changed access to financial services and governance systems, as well as daily communication. With a predominantly prepaid market of subscribers, the continuity of telecom services is highly linked with periodic recharges, which raises significant concerns of consumer protection and digital accessibility. This paper discusses the legal and implication of suspending the incoming calls & SMS services after expiry of the validity of the prepaid plan as prescribed under the regulatory framework established by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Through a doctrinal and comparative analysis, the study assesses existing telecom regulations, especially the Telecom Consumer Protection Regulations and identifies some critical gaps in ensuring continuity of service. It emphasises the fact that current policies, although legally compliant, do not consider the changing role of mobile connectivity as basic digital infrastructure. In addition to that, the research also further analyses the economic burden overwhelmed by practices leading to (such as the practice of 28-day recharge) and also looks at the wider impact of service disruption impacting financial inclusion, digital access and social connectivity. A comparative assessment with telecom practices worldwide shows that while there is no jurisdiction that requires indefinite incoming services, more consumer-centric approaches, longer validity periods and/or extended grace mechanisms are applied by several countries. The results indicate that India’s model of regulation favours market flexibility rather than the protection of consumers using the system, leading to institutional disadvantages for prepaid users. The paper concludes by emphasising the need for regulatory reforms that will ensure minimum service continuity, affordability and alignment of telecom policies to those of digital governance. Such measures are needed in order to strengthen consumer rights and to support an inclusive digital participation.

Keywords: Prepaid Telecom Regulation; Consumer Protection; Digital Inclusion; Incoming Call Restrictions; Telecom Policy India