Now Trai Gets A New Chief - Are We At A New Telecom Crossroad ?

[jusmail 0]

New TRAI chief - Nripendra Misra

The Government has appointed the former Telecom Department Secretary, Nirpendra Misra, as the new chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. He succeeds Pradip Baijal.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2006 01:50:51 AM]

Nripendra Misra is the new chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). He will take charge on Wednesday. Pradip Baijal, the existing chairman, retired on Tuesday. Mr Misra is a 1967-batch IAS officer. He will be the first TRAI chairman who has prior experience in the telecom sector.

This will help in the functioning of the TRAI as he is familiar with all issues and will be able to contribute to decision-making from day one. Mr Misra has worked as chairman of the telecom commission and as secretary of the department of telecommunications (DoT).

During his tenure as secretary, he was known for his transparency in decision making. Mr Misra’s appointment as the new chairman is likely to end an unhealthy relationship between TRAI and the DoT. During the past year, TRAI and DoT opposed each other on almost all important decisions.

No differences between DoT and TRAI: Telecom chief

- Rediff.com

March 22, 2006 16:02 IST

New Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Nripendra Misra said on Wednesday there were no differences between the regulator and the Department of Telecom. Misra promised to continue with the policies of his predecessor Pradeep Baijal.

"There is no fresh look into any policy.. no question of that, there is always a continuity. We never start from a clean slate. It is a modular approach and we build on that", Misra told reporters immediately after taking charge of TRAI.

Asked about reports of differences between DoT during his tenure as Secretary and TRAI and if there was a move for removing Baijal as the TRAI Chairman, he said, "There was no such move. DoT had not approached the Prime Minister's Office on any such issue.

"There were no differences with TRAI when I was in the department and I am sure there were no such differences even after that," the telecom chief added. "I can't comment on the opinion of any Member Parliament," he said when reminded about the CPM's demand for action against Baijal on charges of favouring some private operators.

On whether the biggest challenge for him would be the handling the government or telecom operators, Misra said, "None. I would want to complete three-year tenure with the same kind of certificate that my predecessor got from the media."

The telecom chief said cooperation from all -- private sector, public sector, government, service providers and the telecom department -- was essential for the development of the sector.

[Arun 795]

Trai issues norms on bills, services

[ Tuesday, March 21, 2006 11:57:52 pm - TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

NEW DELHI: Unhappy with your phone bills, or the way your operator changes your service provisions without your consent?

Well, there is some help on way. Telecom regulator Trai has issued a set of regulations that phone companies must adhere to and keep their customers in know of what's happening to their bills and services.

To begin with, your phone company will not be able to unilaterally'restrict or cease service' without advance notice and giving you'reasonable time' to take preventive action against such a move. Trai did not define what would be reasonable time.

Phone companies will have to give their customers detailed information on tariffs. Service providers will have to inform customers in writing, within a week of activation of service, the complete details of (their) tariff plans.

Similarly, phone companies will have to state upfront the charge of value added/interactive services like download of film clips, ring tones, games and the like, before a customer commits to the use of service.

Trai says, changes which ever need to be made in the provision of services, will have to be agreed upon by the customer in writing.

On payments, it has said that a company will have to credit the cleared bill to your account within three working days. In case of pre-paid subscribers, the top-up credit will have to be applied within 15 minutes.

TRAI has issued a regulation on 'Code of Practice for Metering and Billing Accuracy'. The move has come after TRAI undertook an audit of the billing systems put in place by the operators.

"TRAI had been receiving complaints on billing-related matters. These complaints cover areas such as inability to verify the bills, not having clarity about the tariff scheme on which they are being billed, delay in refund, non-adjustment of credits in the bills, etc. The auditing of the billing systems of mobile operators revealed that while the billing systems being used by various operators are comparable to other systems being deployed by major international players, some of the process/ procedure being followed by the mobile operators leads to customer complaints and the attendant customer dissatisfaction," the order reads.

As per the recommendations, TRAI has decided to appoint independent auditors to monitor billing systems put in place by service providers.

A subscriber shall be provided with all tariff information by the service provider before being enrolled. In case of changes in charges or services, the operator shall have to get a written consent from the subscriber. Payments made by a postpaid customers shall be credited to his account within three working days of receipt of the cash or cheque. For prepaid customers, top-up credit shall be applied to a customer’s account within 15 minutes of its application.

If the service provider unilaterally intends to cease service to the subscriber, a notice shall be provided in advance of such action so that he can have reasonable time to take preventive action to avoid restriction or cessation of service.

[Ramchi 0]

All are good in paper. But how can public trust TRAI if it does not take proactive measures and make sure that telecom operators are ahering to the guidelines?

TRAI must come out with a quarterly report on all providers and present it to the consumer forum. There must be points assigned for each areas like: 1. Network Quality 2. Customer Care 3. Billing & Tarrif changes 4. Interconnectivity etc..

All the procedures/documents and measurements must be made available for the general public so that telecom customers can make informed decisions.