Internet Down Over 24 Hours? Claim a TRAI Rebate

Your home broadband has been dead for two full days, you have missed work calls, and the helpline keeps saying “we are working on it”. Can you get money back? Yes. Under TRAI rules, when your operator's service in your district or licensed service area stays down for more than 24 hours, postpaid users are owed a rent rebate and prepaid users are owed a validity extension for the affected days. This page explains the rule, who qualifies, and exactly how to claim.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) notified The Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wireline and Wireless) and Broadband Service Regulations, 2024 (regulation 06 of 2024) on 2 August 2024, and it came into force on 1 October 2024. It replaces three older quality-of-service regulations.

In plain terms, the rule gives you:

• Rent rebate for postpaid subscribers when service in the district or licensed service area is down for more than 24 hours, calculated for the number of affected days, adjusted in your next bill.
• Validity or usage extension for prepaid subscribers for the same number of affected days, since prepaid users have no monthly rent to rebate.
• A measurable standard: the rebate is triggered by an outage in the district or licensed service area, not necessarily a fault on your single line. Read this carefully (see the honesty note below).
• The right to a written complaint, a docket number, and a clear escalation path if the operator does not act.
• Stricter overall service quality, with TRAI now reviewing mobile network performance monthly instead of quarterly.

This is your entitlement as a paying subscriber. You do not need to prove loss or fight in court for the basic rebate; it is meant to be applied by the operator. The The RTI Playbook also explains how to use information rights when a public body or licensee stonewalls you.

The rebate is designed for an outage affecting the operator's service across a district or licensed service area for more than 24 hours, for example a fibre cut, a tower power failure, or a regional network breakdown. A single faulty connection at your home, where the rest of the locality works, is handled as an individual fault repair under your service terms rather than as a guaranteed area-wide rebate. Either way, you should still raise a complaint and ask in writing whether a rebate or extension is due. If the operator declares an area outage, the rebate applies automatically for the affected days.

Keep your own record of when the service went down and when it came back. A simple note of dates and times, plus the docket number, is your proof if you have to escalate.

1. Record the outage. Note the exact date and time service stopped and resumed. Screenshots of “no signal” or speed tests with timestamps help.
2. Raise a complaint with your operator. Call the customer care number, use the app, or email. Clearly state the outage dates and ask for the rent rebate (postpaid) or validity extension (prepaid) under the TRAI Standards of Quality of Service Regulations, 2024.
3. Get the docket number. TRAI rules require operators to give a unique complaint docket or reference number. Do not end the call without it. Write it down.
4. Wait for resolution, then check. Postpaid users should verify the rebate in the next bill. Prepaid users should confirm the extra validity days.
5. Escalate to the appellate authority. If the operator does not respond or refuses unfairly, every licensed operator must have a two-tier grievance system: a Complaint Centre and an Appellate Authority. File a written appeal with the appellate authority, attaching your docket number and outage record.
6. Approach the consumer forum if needed. If escalation fails, you can file before a District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 for deficiency of service.

For drafting complaints and follow-up letters, you may find the tools at righttoinformation.wiki useful, and the AI RTI Drafter helps if a government body or public-sector operator is involved.

TRAI does not just rely on goodwill. The 2024 regulations carry financial disincentives that the operator must pay for breaching quality benchmarks. These are charged per QoS parameter or benchmark, which makes them sting.

Separately, TRAI has set a graded scale of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 2 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for different scales of violations and for filing false reports, replacing the earlier flat penalty. The exact amount depends on the nature and scale of the breach. The point for you as a consumer is simple: your operator has a real money reason to fix outages and to honour your rebate.

The rebate is built for an outage affecting the operator's service across a district or licensed service area for more than 24 hours. A single faulty line at your home, where the area is otherwise working, is treated as an individual repair. In both cases, raise a written complaint and ask if a rebate or extension is due.

It is proportionate to the number of days the service was down beyond the threshold, applied against your monthly rent and adjusted in your next bill. Keep the outage dates and the docket number so you can check the bill is correct.

Prepaid users have no monthly rent, so the operator extends the plan validity or usage by the number of affected days. Confirm the added validity days after the service is restored.

Each operator must run a two-tier system: a Complaint Centre that gives you a docket number, and an Appellate Authority. File a written appeal with the Appellate Authority quoting your docket number. If that fails, you can approach a District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.

The Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wireline and Wireless) and Broadband Service Regulations, 2024 were notified on 2 August 2024 and came into force on 1 October 2024, replacing three older quality-of-service regulations.

If your area service has been down for more than a day, do three things today: write down the outage dates and times, raise a complaint and secure the docket number, and diarise to check your next bill or validity. If the operator stalls, escalate in writing to the Appellate Authority, then the consumer commission. Keep every reference number; a paper trail is what turns a refusal into a refund.

• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, The Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wireline and Wireless) and Broadband Service Regulations, 2024, notified 2 August 2024, trai.gov.in
• Press Information Bureau, “TRAI releases revised Standards of Quality of Service for Access and Broadband Services”, PRID 2040889
• Consumer Protection Act 2019, for deficiency of service before District Consumer Commissions

• Check your building TRAI digital connectivity rating

1. Step 1: Are you entitled to rebate for broadband/mobile outage? (a) TRAI QoS: (i) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India — Quality of Service regulations, (ii) broadband: rebate for outage exceeding 24 hours, (iii) mobile: rebate for network outage exceeding 24 hours, (b) rules: (i) ISP must give rebate if outage > 24 hours, (ii) rebate: pro-rata rental waiver, (iii) ISP must inform customers of outage, © consumer rights: (i) demand rebate for outage, (ii) file complaint with ISP — then TRAI, (iii) RTI: file with TRAI for QoS compliance, (d) authority: TRAI — trai.gov.in, (e) law: TRAI QoS Regulations 2024 + TRAI Act 1997.
2. Step 2: Comparison table — outage rebate scenarios. (a) Broadband outage > 24 hours: (i) issue: internet down > 24 hours, (ii) rebate: pro-rata rental waiver, (iii) remedy: demand from ISP + TRAI, (iv) timeline: 7-30 days, (v) example: broadband down 3 days; demanded rebate; ISP waived 3 days rental, (b) Mobile outage: (i) issue: network down > 24 hours, (ii) rebate: pro-rata rental waiver, (iii) remedy: demand from operator + TRAI, (iv) timeline: 7-30 days, (v) example: mobile network down 2 days; demanded rebate; operator waived rental, © No intimation: (i) issue: ISP didn't inform outage, (ii) remedy: complaint + penalty demand, (iii) timeline: 30 days, (iv) escalation: TRAI, (v) example: ISP didn't inform outage; filed TRAI; ISP fined + rebate, (d) Recurring outage: (i) issue: frequent outages, (ii) remedy: TRAI complaint + demand compensation, (iii) timeline: 30-60 days, (iv) escalation: TRAI penalty, (v) example: recurring outages; filed TRAI; operator penalized; customer compensated, (e) ISP refuses rebate: (i) issue: ISP denies rebate, (ii) remedy: TRAI complaint, (iii) timeline: 30 days, (iv) escalation: consumer court, (v) example: ISP refused rebate; filed TRAI; TRAI directed rebate + penalty. (Note: TRAI QoS mandates rebate for outage > 24 hours — demand from ISP; if denied, file TRAI complaint.)
3. Step 3: How to claim outage rebate. (a) Step 1: Note outage dates + duration, (b) Step 2: Demand rebate from ISP/operator — written + email, © Step 3: If denied — file TRAI complaint — trai.gov.in, (d) Step 4: File RTI with TRAI for QoS compliance, (e) Step 5: Escalate to consumer court if unresolved, (f) Step 6: File complaint with DOT — dot.gov.in.
4. Step 4: E-E-A-T signals. (a) Sources: trai.gov.in, dot.gov.in, pib.gov.in, (b) Last reviewed: July 2026, © Author: RTI Wiki Editorial Team.
5. Step 5: Practical tips. (a) note outage dates + duration — proof, (b) demand rebate in writing — email + letter, © TRAI complaint is effective — trai.gov.in, (d) RTI with TRAI for QoS compliance, (e) Example: A customer's broadband was down 4 days; demanded rebate; ISP refused; filed TRAI complaint; TRAI directed ISP to give rebate + warned for QoS violation.
6. Step 6: Key provisions. (a) TRAI QoS Regulations 2024: outage rebate, (b) TRAI Act 1997: telecom regulator, © trai.gov.in: complaint portal, (d) rebate: pro-rata rental waiver for outage > 24 hours, (e) RTI: file with TRAI for QoS compliance.

See Outage Rebate and Telecom Complaint and How to File RTI and First Appeal and Electricity Ombudsman.