Telecom Consumers Protection (Eighth Amendment) Regulations 2015: Major Features
Telecom Consumers Protection (Eighth Amendment) Regulations 2015: Major Features
Question: Telecom Consumers Protection (Eighth Amendment) Regulations 2015 have been proposed to protect consumer interests using wireless data services. Consumer protection is an important issue and the regulations will go a long way towards ensuring it is not violated. Elaborate.
- TRAI has been receiving complaints from consumers regarding information non availability and concessional tariff for data up to a certain limit.
- Telecom Consumers Protection (Eighth Amendment) Regulations 2015 has been released to address the same and has the following salient features:
- Information to consumers pertaining to usage of data has been covered. Service providers have been mandated to provide via SMS or USSD:
- Information for mobile data users with respect to usage of data, following 10 MB of data usage to all mobile users except those with special data packs
- Information for users of numerous data packs in case limit of data usage reaches 50,90 and 100 percent of data available regarding the account of the subscriber or when the data balance in account of subscriber reaches 500 MB, 100 MB and 10 MB
- The consumer will be informed about details of tariff applicable following exhaustion of data limit available in the account reaches 10 MB
- An alert to global roaming customer cautioning deactivation of data service if there is no intention to use data services
- Regarding Activation or deactivation of data services, they should be activated only with explicit consent from the subscriber through a toll free short code
- Data services through Special Tariff Voucher/Combo Voucher/add on pack will be activated with consent up to the expiration of validity period of voucher/pac or entire data consumption, whichever comes sooner
- Customers should also receive information via SMS at periodic intervals regarding data deactivation
Facts and Stats
The regulation for activating or deactivating data services on request of the consumer was also specified through IVR and SMS to toll free common short code 1925 under regulation 10B
