TRAI talks tough with Bharti on network rectification

Telecom regulator TRAI on Tuesday criticised leading cellular service provider Bharti Airtel for proposing to charge extra for rectifying defects and asked the operator to refund such money, if any, taken from consumers.

Examining the tariff reports submitted by Bharti Airtel, which proposed additional charges for rectification of defects, the regulator said, "such tariff packages are anti-consumer and cannot be permitted."

As per terms and conditions of the licence issued to the service providers, the responsibility for maintaining the performance and quality of service rests with operators.

The customer does not choose the quality of material being used in the network by the company and is not responsible for the bad workmanship in the cable, drop-wire among others and has no say in determining the quality of the network elements.

TRAI has given a deadline of one week to Bharti Airtel to report compliance.

The regulator is the process of issuing separate general guidelines to all the service providers on this issue.

In a separate decision, TRAI has amended the guidelines for registration of consumer organisations/NGOs to attract more representation from the states.

TRAI said 28 consumer organisations/NGOs have been registered with TRAI till now. However, over 11 states in the country have no representation in the registered group of consumer organisations on account of certain eligibility conditions in the guidelines for registration.

Consumer organisations/NGOs can now register after one year of experience in assisting the consumers in redressal of complaints against three years earlier.

The amendment also provides for automatic renewal of registration after a period of three years, taking into account the usefulness of the organisation to protect the interest of consumers of telecom sector and their capacity to advocate the cause of consumers among others.