Trai To Script Vas Norms

[Honest 836]

TRAI to Curb Activation of VAS without explicit subscriber Consent

TRAI has directed all the service providers to identify the root cause behind the problem of VAS activation without explicit subscriber consent. For a very long time Telecom subscribers have been complaining of activation of VAS services without explicit consent. Especially in rural areas and among naive ,gullible consumers this problem is more rampant as they unknowingly respond to a OBD (out bound dialled) IVR calls by pressing some keys. Activation of VAS services through this medium is kept in the category of implicit consent. TRAI is of the view that VAS should be activated only through explicit consent of the customers.

During the half yearly meeting of the Consumer advocacy group which was held at Chennai in the month of December, several consumer advocates raised the issue and thus TRAI has taken up to resolve the issue. With that objective TRAI has written to all service providers to identify the root cause and to take actions to mitigate the problem. TRAI has directed service providers to send a detailed report on the cause of the problem and action taken.

Courtesy : Teleguru

[Karthik R 246]

A long due move by TRAI

[raccoon 53]

It is an absolute no brainer that this is done deliberately by telcos. AirHELL is doing this on a massive scale. And TRAI is innocently asking them to identify the cause?

How much more hilarious can it get?

Unknowingly responding and activating VAS service by less informed consumers is quite another issue, and I'd say of much lesser importance. Companies like AirHELL and even Reliance to some extent (and maybe others too, to a lesser degree) are activating VAS services without any action (deliberate or mistaken) on the customers side.

And thru the above report, it seems TRAI is pretending to be ignorant.

[Honest 836]

Then I think Vodafone is the best. In the past 10+ years I didn't experienced any VAS activation on my number without my consent.

[KanagaDeepan 1,084]

No Kamal bhai... Vodafone has auto-activated CRBT for my mom's number.. When complaining the CC cooly said "It is FREE for some time and if you didn't deactivated after 15 days only it will get charged"...

On hearing this I got tensed up and scolded him very very badly (I know I become mad in such case, but this is NOTHING different from PICK-POCKET type crime, trying to easily taking away my hard-earned money -- Which I earned honestly and bearing the pain of separated from my family for 12 days a month) and told "IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GIVE FREEBIES, GIVE IT TO THE PEOPLE WHO PRESS * VOLUNTARILY TO COPY YOUR TUNE AND NOT TO OLD PEOPLE WHO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT YOUR BULL$HIT SERVICE, YOU BL00DY PICK POCKET"..

Very starnge, the CRBT was deactivated within JUST TWO MINUTES... Well BASHING AND SCOLDING ACCHAA HAI ...

[SUDYEcaZ 67]

One of my friend is working in Telecom industry,

according to him

most of the sale people are having high sale(activation) and revenue pressure

this is the main reason for false activation and VAS activation

On VAS activation this people just pick random numbers and activate some VAS on the same(mostly pre-paids)

Also

Revenue pressure is more in Voda and Idea thats why more VAS activation over there, where as new player like DOCOMO is having activation pressure and thus High fake activation for it

[Karthik R 246]

Airtel gets maximum customer complaints : TRAI

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is on top when it comes to receiving customer complaints regarding billing and service related issues with 3,571 complaints filed in the last three years, the Lok Sabha was informed.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, minister for communications and information technology Sachin Pilot said that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) was receiving complaints against mobile operators on issues related to service, billing, metering, tariff and activation of chargeable value added services without explicit consent of the customer.

Trai received more than 3,570 complaints from Airtel subscribers, more than 1,890 from Vodafone Essar customers and more than 2,100 from Reliance Communications' customers since 2008-09. Tata Docomo and Idea Cellular customers lodged 1,239 and 925 complaints, respectively, with Trai, the regulator added.

- ET

[raccoon 53]

Figures are exactly what I'd have expected... and exactly in alignment with my own experience (except for Voda, with who I'v had no experience).

Personal experiences aside, percentage of complaints would give a more accurate picture rather than just the number.

Edited March 10, 2011 by raccoon

[rajanmehta 4,056]

This figures are just of people who actually complained to TRAI....

And You know what Small Minority they are what with our scepticism about effectiveness of that course of action...

Actual Complaint to Operators Figure would run in Millions i believe...

[digitalnirvana 646]

What does TRAI do when they get these complaints except sitting on them, just see the date when this thread was started and still unauthorized VAS menace continues unabated, no point in TRAI just scripting norms unless it enforces them.

[raccoon 53]

If you are implicitly referring to me, I have never discouraged complaining there. What I had brought to light is their lack of teeth (legal) in doing anything about it, in case the telco still does not oblige. So in short, if you get lucky its good, else. your complaint will just figure in statistics (like above).

Yes, the "real" figures would definitely run into millions, but what I ment to say is that I believe the proportion would still remain more or less the same with Airtel at the top by a LARGE margin and Idea at the bottom (or so I think, because its in concord with my experience).

Edited March 10, 2011 by raccoon

[digitalnirvana 646]

^

No I did not make any references to you, I was just commenting on the post which shows number of complaints and stating that TRAI is a lame duck as most of the regulatory authorities in our country. They just introduce rules but not implement them. You are correct in your statement. The regulatory authorities need to be empowered else they are effectively doing nothing.

Edit guess you were replying to Rajan ji, our posts were at same time.

Edited March 10, 2011 by digitalnirvana

[raccoon 53]

Yes, I was indeed referring to Rajan's post. Logged out before I could see that you had posted in the interim.

[Karthik R 246]

Mobile service subscribers can classified into four categories :

1. Poor illitrate Indian who doesnt realise that he have been cheated of his account balance. And are at the mercy of devious retailers and operators. These represents the vast majority of the 800 million subscriber base.

2. People who call CC at 121 or 198 and complain.

Again only a part of them raise the issue to the nodal authorities if the redressal provided is not satisfactory.

3. Customers who mail the operator or raise issue in online forums to elicit a faster response.

4. And the enlightened miniscule minority who realise that TRAI actually stands for Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and take the effort to write to them.

The figures released by the Govt. which itself run into 1000s represents the fourth category of users. Hence the actual magnitude of this issue is incomprehensible and the figures will definitely be in millions.

[raccoon 53]

Pretty well put. As for the 1st category you defined, "poor illiterate Indian", I must say that the definition isn't quite right. I know quite a few pretty "literate" ones, even ones educated abroad, who fall somewhere between catageory 1 and 2. They don't understand/want to understand tariffs, don't check on things, and at the most customer service begins and ends with the 121/198/xxx numbers.

[kesav 127]

Here is the link to official press release on the subject.

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=70776

Edited March 10, 2011 by kesav

[Karthik R 246]

Govt mulls giving cellphone location info to VAS providers

New Delhi : The government is studying the feasibility of giving value added service providers access to information related to the location of a cellphone as a part of the National Telecom Policy 2011.

Once given a go ahead the service has the potential to locate lost cellphones, tracking people anywhere in the country, by simply feeding the mobile number in a web application even if the handset is not GPS enabled.

"Location based services (LBS) is going to be part of content enablement under NTP. It is important for VAS and everybody knows that VAS is going to be name of the game," R Chandrashekhar, secretary, Department of Telecommunications told PTI.

The content enablement provision of NTP 2011, lays down the guidelines for VAS service providers for providing all kind of content over mobile phones like MMS, SMS, Alerts.

The government is, however, contemplating how much information related to location of a mobile phone can be given out to public keeping in mind privacy issues and security concerns.

"We are vetting it to decide how much of it can be opened for public," he added.

There are various companies in the telecom sector that provide location-based services on request like information about nearest restaurants and hospitals etc. of a particular area where the user is positioned. The information is provided to the user when he types the name of the location on an mobile application on his cell phone or sends a SMS to a particular number. At present, the location of a cellphone can be traced by public only if the handset is GPS enabled.

The location-based information of all other (non-GPS enabled) mobile phones can be only accessed by security agencies using mobile phone towers.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has also invited comments on mobile value added services report released by Assocham in January as pre-cursor to a consultation paper on VAS. Assocham report has also referred to applications based on location based information of mobile phone.

- Economic Times

[raccoon 53]

This govt. is bent on destroying the very concept of privacy and liberty.

[kesav 127]

LBS (Location Based Services) are really good boon for business and people.

It has potential to bring a revolution in our day to day life.

It must be supported and Govt must come up with favorable and progressive regulations.

As @raccoon says privacy is a very key point.

Regulations must ensure that subscribers will have complete knowledge about the entities(Individuals/Companies) to whom their location will be made available.

It's should be "do know" approach where by default nobody knows the location and thereafter subscriber can share his location to individuals/companies whom he wants to share by way of activating.

Edited April 19, 2011 by kesav