End discrimination, TRAI tells basic phone companies

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 10. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked private basic phone companies to end the discrimination in providing connections.

It has also decided to closely monitor the provision of phone connections by these companies following complaints of denial of registration or being perpetually kept on the waiting list.

The TRAI has issued a set of directions after finding that private companies were more than willing to register corporate and high-paying customers, but were not registering those from whom income expectations were low. The directives are expected to ensure that customers seeking phone connections are not harassed.

During investigations, the TRAI felt the main difficulty was non- availability of information and lack of transparency and uniformity in registration. Accordingly, it has issued directives under Section 13 and 11 (1)(b)(v) of the TRAI Act 1997 to all basic service operators (BSOs) regarding maintenance of waiting list and adherence to it. The directive clearly details the manner in which waiting lists are to be maintained, adhered to and follow-up action taken.

The main features of the directive include asking every BSO to provide telephone connections to new customers on a first-come- first-served basis without any discrimination in the service area covered by the company. BSOs should not deny registration to any customer on any account until directed by the licenser in writing to refuse the connection.

If the provision of connection is not feasible for technical reasons beyond the control of licensee, companies have been asked to make arrangements for providing connections within a reasonable time in a non-discriminatory manner in accordance with the waiting list maintained. The waiting list should be accessible to all waitlisted applicants.

The total number of waitlisted customers at the end of the quarter and the longest period for which an application for telephone connection has been pending in each local area (SDCA), should be intimated to the TRAI by the seventh day of every quarter as a part of performance-monitoring.

The BSOs should advertise, giving wide publicity, the address of customer centres where registration forms are available and where a customer can register telephone service requests. Companies have also been asked to prominently display a copy of the TRAI directive in their customer service centres and disseminate its contents to the public, specially during marketing promotion drives.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : Immense potential for animal cloning
Next     : Construction plan ratified