REGULATION: Does Anyone Care?

Customer is the king. This is the underlying philosophy guiding business
establishments all over the world, and telecom service providers are no
exception. But yet the customer is the most vulnerable link in the entire
business chain. Despite having one of the fastest growing subscriber base in the
world, India has done little to protect the rights and interests of its
consumers, who have so profoundly contributed to the telecom revolution sweeping
the country. As it is, the consumer rights awareness is low, and weak laws have
made them sitting ducks for the industry.

We celebrate March 13 every year as National Consumers' Day, but this is
where consumer rights awareness meets its end. With Indian service providers
ignoring problems of consumers without the fear of being taken to task, this day
only marks the existence of a concept.

The
world over consumer right protection and consumer awareness is a serious issue
and is addressed at various fora. In telecom industry, regulators have an
important role to play when it comes to helping the consumers through their
problems. Indian regulator on the other hand has failed to provide a strong
consumer support system, which has led to a sorry state of affairs at the
consumer end.

The US Experience

Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the independent US government
agency, responsible for regulating all modes of communications, takes active
interest in consumer awareness and consumer rights protection.

It has a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, which educates and informs
consumers about the goods and services available in the telecom industry. It
also engages in getting inputs and feedbacks from the customers to help guide
the work of the commission. This bureau also plays a crucial part in
coordinating the telecom policy efforts with the industry, the government and
the local agencies, in serving the public interest.

Another body in FCC, which protects consumer interests, is the Consumer
Advisory Committee (CAC). This committee has been constituted especially to make
recommendations to FCC regarding consumer issues within the jurisdiction of FCC
and to facilitate the participation of consumers in proceedings before the
commission i.e. to keep consumers in the picture and to provide a forum or
representation to consumers at the FCC. The CAC holds regular meetings to review
FCC's processes and procedures and issues pending before FCC.

It also provides consumers the opportunity to read about or listen to the
proceeding of the meetings on the FCC website. The website itself has been
designed so exhaustively that all information and procedure for grievance
redressal is just a click of a mouse away. On FCC website all the information
ranging from the name of the Chairman of the organization to what's new in
telecom industry, new legislations passed, information about various bureaus,
offices, advisory committees to online filing of complaint by consumers is
available.

FCC even has Consumer Service Standards, which sets benchmarks for FCC
officials for their interaction with consumer and grievance redressal at
personal, post or email level.

The FCC website also informs consumers on how they can protect themselves and
take action against offences such as profanity, indecency etc. it also has a
state-wise linkage with their legal officers for consumer affair resolution,
toll free numbers for complaints. Special care is taken for the rights of the
disabled consumer.

UK's Initiative

Ofcom, the regulator for the UK communication industries has separate
arrangements for customer care and complaint filing. The organization has
established separate Ofcom Contact Centers for registering complaints of the
customers.

Ofcom's website too is a one stop shop for all answers for consumer related
issues and queries. All the information is available on the website and
information about electronic communication and telecom is provided separately.
It also directs the consumer about the authorities that should be contacted for
grievance redressal before coming to Ofcom. The regulatory organization has also
made arrangements to provide important information to its consumers regarding
the new laws, developments in the industry, which affects them directly. It also
provides information about acts and laws protecting consumers such as Data
Protection Statement and Freedom of Information Act. The regulator also provides
steep by step guidelines on how to register a complaint against a service
provider.

The Indian Scenario

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India was set up in 1997 to regulate the
telecommunication and services and for the matters related to it. According to
the Act under which the regulator was established, the function of TRAI is to
"protect the interest of the consumers of telecommunication service"
but the kind of conditions that have been made for a consumer to even file a
complaint, leaves them stranded into the rut of red tape bureaucracy.

The TRAI (amendment) Act 2000 requires the telecom regulator to "lay
down standards of quality of service to be provided by the service provider, and
ensure the quality of service and conduct the periodical survey of such service
providers so as to protect the interest of consumers of telecommunication
services".

Nowhere we can find any indication on the regulator's relation with
individual consumer or a group of consumers, although the TDSAT (Telecom Dispute
Settlement and Appellate Tribunal) is empowered to deal with disputes between
the service providers and a group of consumers.

In 1998, TRAI issued a QoS Consultation paper which lays down certain QOS
parameters for providers of basic services, cellular services etc. it also lays
down certain benchmarks on consumer facility, technical parameter, grades of
service and quality of connection. It talked about a mechanism of complaint
redressal through the ombudsman but these provisions are limited to the papers
and have not yet been put to action.

According to a senior TRAI official, "TRAI had made recommendations for
establishment of an ombudsman but the government declined the recommendations
and since we have just a recommendatory role we could not do anything."

TRAI's initiative in the field of consumer protection has been a
notification of Regulation on Quality of Service of Basic and Cellular mobile
services in July 2000 and a Regulation on guidelines for registration of
consumer organizations/non-government organizations (NGOs) and their interaction
with TRAI in January 2001 in order to improve the consumer interface. But these
are large-scale policy decisions, which will take time to be implemented as they
are still at a formative stage. At the grassroot level, TRAI has failed to
establish any link between the consumers and the industry. It acts as a policy
maker and seems to be distant from the numerous grievances that a consumer
faces.

On this, TRAI is of the view that since they do not have the authority to
solve consumer related issues it won't be fruitful to have a regular link with
customers, although if they get a complaint they forward it to the service
provider and do keep track of the proceedings.

An array of consultation papers, regulations, press releases showing how the
regulator has been actively thinking about reforms are posted on the TRAI
website.

There's no way to file a complaint or to get help or directions to how a
consumer can file and pursue his complaint. As for contacting the regulator,
there is a phone number, a fax number and an email id but no names as to who is
responsible for answering these phones or reading those mails is mentioned.

TRAI has been giving directives time to time for refund of Security deposits,
directives to service providers to refund migration charges, auto-roaming of all
pre-paid customers but these are given when large number of consumers are
affected and it becomes more of a policy decision for TRAI to intervene. There
is no hearing of individual customer complaints.

In fact the very Act under which TRAI was established, binds it on the issue
of consumer grievance redressal. According to the Act, the complaint of an
individual consumer is maintainable before a Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum
or a Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission or the National Consumer Redressal
Commission established under Consumer Protection Act.

The government should give serious thought to expanding TRAI's authority
and powers in this cause and help the consumers of the telecom sector have
better channels of interaction with the establishment. After all that's what
they have been made for.

A multifaceted approach, involving strict implementation of the Consumer
Protection Act, efficient channels of communication with the consumer and a
strong regulatory authority is needed to ensure a level playing field and fair
competition.

HIGHLIGHTS

• FCC's consumer and government affairs bureau educates and informs
  consumers about the availability of goods and services in the telecom
  industry
• Ofcom has established separate Ofcom Contact Centers for
  consumer-grievance redressal and provides step-by-step guidelines on how to
  register complaints against service providers
• TRAI's role is recommendatory and limited to-providing suggestions to
  the policy makers, and directives to erring service providers

By our reporter vadmail@cybermedia.co.in