Trai goes soft on quality

In a set back to consumers, telecom regulator Trai may give some leniency to telecom operators on various service quality standards that they have to maintain including resolution of billing complaints and response time to the customer for assistance.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( Trai) on Wednesday said that it has been monitoring the performance of telecom operators and has been imposing financial disincentives on them, wherever there has been failure to comply with the benchmarks on ser- vice quality standards.

It pointed out that the operators have been representing to it that though they have always tried to meet the benchmarks on quality standards, in certain cases, there were practical difficulties in achieving the prescribed benchmarks.

Accordingly, they have requested the Trai to revise the benchmarks for some of the parameters.

Trai said that the benchmarks for some of these parameters are under the control of operators and with some extra efforts, the prescribed benchmark could be achieved. “However, for some of the parameters, there could be prac- tical and genuine difficulties in achieving the benchmarks,” said Trai.

For this purpose, Trai has come out with a consultation paper on ‘ Review of the Standards of Quality of Service of Basic Telephone Services and Cellular Mobile Telephone Services.’

Among other, the consultation paper has asked people to give their views whether resolution of billing/ charging complaints within four weeks for basic telephone service and cellular mobile telephone service need revision. It has also called for views if the benchmark for termination of service be revised.