TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA (TRAI)
THE AUTHORITY COMMITS ITSELF TO PROTECT THE INTERESTS OF CONSUMERS
Consumer friendly measures taken by TRAI:
Tariff related issues:
• The service provider should inform the customer within a week of activation of service the complete tariff plan and should also convey any changes to any item of tariff.
• The service provider cannot increase tariff on any item within 6 months of enrolment in a tariff plan.
• The customer is free to move from one tariff plan to another without paying any fee for migration.
• Hike in any tariff item is prohibited in tariff plans with prescribed period of validity of more than 6 months including lifetime validity or unlimited validity involving upfront payment.
• Even if the talk time value has exhausted, the pre-paid customers should get all services, which do not affect “talk time valueâ€, like incoming calls/SMS etc during the entire validity period.
• Prepaid customer’s unused balance is to be carried forward if recharged during the grace period specified for the purpose.
• Fixed line and Broadband customers to be given rental rebate for faults pending beyond 3 days.
• Security deposits are to be refunded after adjustment of dues within 60 days, failing which interest has to be paid @10% per annum for the delay.
• Pre-paid customers can be charged for roaming, only if one chooses to make or receive a call while roaming and customers should be informed about this through SMS whenever one roams into another service area.
• A Regulation has been notified for the purpose of laying down code of practice for metering and billing accuracy, aimed at bringing transparency and minimize the incidence of billing complaints
• A Regulation has been notified on the quality of service of broadband services, which shall be effective from 1st January 2007.
Value Added Services:
• No chargeable value added service shall be provided to a customer without his explicit consent.
• The subscriber for international roaming can opt a particular ring back tone from their service provider to avoid unwanted/unimportant calls by indicating message to the calling party in the ring back tone about his/her international roaming status.
Complaint Redressal Mechanism:
• Service Providers to appoint Nodal Officers in different service areas to deal with complaints
• All service requests/complaints made to the customer care helpline shall be assigned a unique docket number and communicated to the customer.
• In the event of a request for termination of services, bills to be raised after adjustment of security deposit.
Conditional Access System (CAS) for Cable TV Services
• The salient features of CAS notified in select areas of Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are:-
- Right to choose individual pay channels;
- Bouquets of pay channels optional;
- Rates of pay channels per month (excluding taxes not to exceed Rs.5/-per subscriber;
- Free to Air (FTA) channels to cost Rs.77/-(excluding taxes) for a minimum of 30 channels;
- Set Top Box (STB) to be made available on rent
• The QoS Regulation on CAS provides for:-
- Time frame for connection / reconnection, repairs, billing complaints etc.
- Connection within 02 days of completion of formalities.
- Rebate for delay in activation of STB beyond 2 working days @ Rs.15/day for first five days and Rs.10/day thereafter.
- All complaints to be responded / attended within 08 hours.
- Redressal of billing complaints within 07 days of notice.
The details of the above are available on TRAI’s website
http://www.trai.gov.in/trai/upload/pressreleases/32/pre/dec05.pdf
And the Common Charter of Telecom Services is available at
http://www.trai.gov.in/citizen%20charter/comm_charter16mar2006.pdf