Telcos challenge call drop compensation rule in HC
Cellular operators sought a stay on Trai's compensation policy for call drops
New Delhi: The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) and several telcos moved the Delhi high court on Thursday, challenging new regulations stipulating that telcos compensate subscribers for call drops.
COAI, AUSPI, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Aircel Ltd, Vodafone India Ltd, Idea Cellular Ltd, Telenor Communications Pvt. Ltd, Videocon Communications, Reliance Telecommunications Ltd and Tata Teleservices Ltd sought a stay on Trai’s compensation policy for call drops.
According to the latest amendment to the Telecom Consumer Protection Regulations notified by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on 16 October, telcos will have to credit ₹ 1 to a user for every call drop, up to ₹ 3 per day (three dropped calls).
The amendment will take force on 1 January.
Trai has no authority to grant compensation to consumers, COAI has said in the petition, a copy of which Mint has reviewed.
The telcos have claimed in the petition that this additional compensation would cost the companies ₹ 54,000 crore annually.
“Trai is aware of the real causes of call drops i.e., shortage of spectrum and resistance in installation of towers, which are not attributable to service providers. Being aware of this, it is inconsistent for Trai to require service providers to pay compensation to subscribers for call drops, " COAI said.
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