Telecom Regulatory Authority- PAGE-3

 

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act 1997

This enactment of TRAI guidelines  in India has provided for the establishment of the [Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal to regulate the telecommunication services, adjudicate disputes, dispose of appeals and to protect the interests of service providers and consumers of the telecom sector] .

All telecom operators are to adhere to and comply with the norms including :

1. Interconnection issues (Tariff, charges, Policy matters, revenues sharing).
2. Quality of the telecom services, including call drops.
3. Consumer protection and redressal of grievance 
4. Access to the call records and recordings.
5. Mobile number portability.

In the event of non-compliance of TRAI guidelines, a penalty is levied and recovered from Telecom Operators.

As per TRAI, the telephone bill issued by the Telecom operator or service provider to subscribers gives complete picture of the service actually provided by service provider which, inter-alia, includes details of the service, rates and related terms and conditions, actual usage of service during the period, amount payable by the subscriber and due date of  payment.  The charges for calls message rate and measured rate system shall become payable on presentation of a bill.   It also stipulates that, any notice, bill or demand from the Telegraph authority for any fee or charges due from a subscriber may be served by delivery to the subscriber, or by sending it by post to the address of the subscriber or by leaving it at the premises or upon which the Telephone instruments or telecom apparatus is installed.   If telephone bill is not sent to the customer or details of usage is not mentioned in the bill or due date is not stipulated in the bill or it is not as per TRAI guidelines, a penalty is levied and recovered from Telecom Operators.

Transparency and Consumer Protection under TRAI:

a)  Limits on Tariff : It has been enumerated in the TRAI guidelines about limits of charges on type of tariff.

b) Telecom Operators have to report to TRAI any new tariff and the subsequent changes in the existing tariff. 

c) Tariff charged along with the terms and conditions attached to it by the TSPs should be published in a manner as prescribed by TRAI from time to time. 

d) Post Service Transparency and Consumer Protection is to be ensured by Telecom Service Provider including disconnection and re-connection of the services on non-payment of bill.