TRAI regulations for QUALITY OF SERVICE OF BROADBAND SERVICE
TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA,
EXTRAORDINARY, PART III, SECTION 4
TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA
NOTIFICATION
NEW DELHI, THE 24TH DECEMBER, 2012
F. NO. 305-21/2012-QOS.----- In exercise of the powers conferred upon it under section 36, read with sub–clauses (i) and (v) of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India hereby makes the following regulations to amend the Quality of Service of Broadband Service Regulations 2006 (11 of 2006), namely:-
QUALITY OF SERVICE OF BROADBAND SERVICE
(AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 2012
(28 OF 2012)
1. (1) These regulations may be called the Quality of Service of Broadband Service (Amendment) Regulations, 2012.
(2) They shall come into force with effect from 1st January, 2013.
2. After regulation 3 of the Quality of Service of Broadband Service Regulations, 2006, (hereinafter referred to as the principal regulations), the following regulation shall be inserted namely:-
“3A. Consequences for failure of the service provider to meet Quality of Service benchmarks.- (1) If a service provider providing broadband service fails to meet the benchmark of QoS parameter specified under serial number i to viii of regulation (3), it shall, without prejudice to the terms and conditions of its licence, or the Act or rules or regulations or orders made, or direction issued, thereunder, be liable to pay an amount, by way of financial disincentive, not exceeding rupees fifty thousand per parameter and in case of second or subsequent such contravention, to pay an amount not exceeding rupees one lakh per parameter for each contravention, as the Authority may, by order direct:
Provided that no order for payment of any amount by way of financial disincentive shall be made by the Authority unless the service provider providing broadband service has been given a reasonable opportunity of representing against the contravention of the regulation observed by the Authority.
(2) If the compliance report furnished by a service provider providing broadband service for QoS parameter specified under serial number i to viii under regulation 3 is false and which such service provider knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, it shall, without prejudice to the terms and conditions of its license, or the Act or rules or regulations or order made, or, direction issued thereunder, be liable to pay an amount, by way of financial disincentive, not exceeding rupees ten lakh per parameter for which such false report has been furnished.
Provided that no order for payment of any amount by way of financial disincentive shall be made by the Authority unless the service provider providing broadband service has been given a reasonable opportunity of representing against the contravention of the regulation observed by the Authority.
(3) The amount payable by way of financial disincentive under these regulations shall be remitted to such head of account as may be specified by the Authority.”
3. After regulation 4 of the principal regulations, the following regulation shall be inserted, namely:----
“4A. Consequences for failure of the service providers to submit compliance report.- (1) If a service provider providing broadband service contravenes the provisions of regulation 4, it shall, without prejudice to the terms and conditions of its licence, or the provisions of the Act or rules or regulations or order made, or direction issued, thereunder, be liable to pay an amount, by way of financial disincentive, not exceeding rupees five thousand for every day during which the default continues.
Provided that no order for payment of any amount by way of financial disincentive shall be made by the Authority unless the service provider providing broadband service has been given a reasonable opportunity of representing against the contravention of the regulation observed by the Authority.
(2) The amount payable by way of financial disincentive under these regulations shall be remitted to such head of account as may be specified by the Authority.”
(Rajeev Agrawal)
Secretary
Note 1.--- The principal regulations were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4 dated the 10th October, 2006 vide notification number No. 304-6/2004-QoS dated the 6th October, 2006.
Note 2.--- The Explanatory Memorandum explains the objects and reasons of the Quality of Service of Broadband Service (Amendment) Regulations, 2012.
Explanatory Memorandum
TRAI has laid down the Quality of Service Standards for Broadband Service through the Quality of Service of Broadband Service Regulations, 2006 (11 of 2006) dated the 6th October, 2006. As part of compliance to these regulations the quarterly Performance Monitoring Reports are received from service providers providing broadband service. TRAI also conducts periodic audit and assessment of Quality of Service (QoS) through independent agencies across the country, to monitor the compliance of prescribed standards/ benchmarks. Analysis of these reports of several past quarters reveals that some of the service providers are repeatedly not meeting the Quality of Service benchmarks for some of the prescribed parameters and no consistent improvement is noticed in spite of continuous follow up with the service providers by TRAI. Therefore, a need has been felt to provide for financial disincentives for failure to meet the Quality of Service benchmarks.
2. Keeping in view the need to ensure the Quality of Service provided by the service providers and to protect the interests of the consumers by making these regulations more effective, it is felt that the Quality of Service of Broadband Service Regulations, 2006 (11 of 2006) dated the 6th October, 2006 need to be amended to introduce financial disincentive in relation to the performance of service providers with regard to the Quality of Service benchmarks so as to strengthen the effectiveness and compliance of the said regulations.
3. The draft amendments to the Standards of Quality of Service of Broadband Service Regulations, 2006 (11 of 2006) on financial disincentives were released on 26.10.2012, seeking the comments of the stakeholders. Some of the stakeholders have stated that Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 does not confer upon the Authority power to impose penalty in the form of financial disincentives. In this context, it is stated that the TRAI Act confers power on the Authority not only to regulate but also to ensure the compliance of the provisions of the regulations. The word “ensure” has mandatory connotation, it means “make certain”. Furthermore, the Hon’ble Supreme Court, in its judgment dated the 17, Aug, 2007, in Civil Appeal No. 2104/2006 (Central Power Distribution Co. & Ors Vs. CERC & Anr), inter-alia, held that “it is well settled that a power to regulate includes within it power to enforce”. It will not be out of place to mention that there are a catena of judgments by the Supreme Court wherein the Hon’ble Court has repeatedly re-stated the proposition that legislation should be read and interpreted so as to further the purpose of its enactment and not in a manner that derogates from its main objectives. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment in the case of State of Karnataka Vs. Vishwabharthi House Building Co-operative Societies and Ors. [(2004) 5 SCC 430], quoted with approval the judgment of Hon’ble Guwahati High Court in the case of Arbind Das Vs. State of Assam & Ors. [AIR 1981 Gau 18 (FB)] wherein it was inter-alia, held that where a statute gives a power, such power implies that legitimate steps may be taken to exercise that power even though these steps may not be clearly spelt out in the statute. The Hon’ble Court further held that in determining whether a power claimed by a statutory authority can be held to be incidental or ancillary to the powers specially conferred by the statute, the court must not only see whether the power may be derived by reasonable implication from the provisions of the statute, but also whether such powers are necessary for carrying out the purposes of the provision of the statute which confers power on the Authority in exercise of such powers. The relevant part of the said judgment reads as under:-
“We are of firm opinion that where a statute gives a power, such power implies that all legitimate steps may be taken to exercise that power even though these steps may not be clearly spelt in the statute. Where the rule-making authority gives power to certain authority to do anything of public character, such authority should get the power to take intermediate steps in order to give effect to the exercise of the power in its final step, otherwise the ultimate power would become illusory, ridiculous and inoperative which could not be the intention of the rule-making authority. In determining whether a power claimed by the statutory authority can be held to be incidental or ancillary to the powers expressly conferred by the statute, the court must not only see whether the power may be derived by reasonable implication from the provisions of the statute, but also whether such powers are necessary for carrying out the purpose of the provisions of the statute which confers power on the authority in its exercise of such power.”
In view of the above, the Authority has power to impose financial disincentives on the service providers for non-compliance of the provisions of the Regulations. Keeping in view the comments received from the stakeholders and the need to ensure compliance with the Quality of Service regulations, these regulations have been formulated.
4. Some of the stakeholders have stated that the broadband industry itself is still at a very nascent stage and it needs lesser regulatory framework and hence the QoS KPIs should be revised. Further, exclusions for events beyond the control of service providers should also be taken into consideration for calculation of KPIs, like force majeure & natural calamities, impact due to law & order issues like curfews, bandhs etc., infrastructure issues in security sensitive areas, site access issues due to limited availability of road network, installation time and restoration time delay due to customer unavailability or reasons related with customer premises, failures caused by major power grid failures, unreliable electricity supply, impact due to fibre cuts and other disruptions caused by ongoing- infrastructure improvement projects, repeated theft at sites even after logging complaints with law enforcement agencies like Police, Right of Way (ROW) issues, building access issues, field related permission issues, customer own CPE & wiring issues, laying of aerial network which is prone to external factors and customers who voluntarily accept the lower QoS.
In this context, it is stated that the benchmarks for the QoS parameters as laid down in the Quality of Service of Broadband Service Regulations 2006 (11 of 2006) are sufficiently lenient keeping in view the growth of broadband services and customer interests. Further, it has been provisioned in the regulations that a reasonable opportunity of representing against the contravention of the regulation observed by the Authority shall be given to the service provider before an order for payment of any amount by way of financial disincentive is made.
5. The Authority will monitor the Quality of Service reported by service providers subsequent to the coming into force of these regulations from the point of view of non-compliance with the benchmarks. In case the benchmark for any of the quality of service parameter for Broadband Service e.g. the benchmark for packet loss <1%, is not met by an operator in the first quarter after coming into force of these regulations financial disincentive not exceeding Rs.50000/- is liable to be imposed. In case in any of the subsequent quarters the benchmark for the same parameter i.e. packet loss <1% is not met financial disincentive not exceeding Rs.1 lakh is liable to be imposed by the Authority.
6. It has been commented that the Broadband QoS Regulation describing calculation methodology for some of the parameters are not fully clear which may lead to variance in the performance of the parameter reported by service providers vis-à-vis understanding of the regulations by independent auditors while carrying out the audit. However, the measurement methodology of the parameters is already explained in detail in the explanatory memorandum to the principal regulations.
In order to prevent furnishing of false compliance reports to the Authority, financial disincentive not exceeding rupees ten lakh per parameter has been provisioned in the regulations. The Authority is of the view that such provision of financial disincentive will act as a deterrent against false reporting of performance against Quality of Service benchmarks.
7. Some of the stakeholders have stated that the proposal to impose financial disincentives for even minor delay in submission of report for few days is too harsh as delay in reporting is minor/technical violation in nature especially when consumer is not harmed. The case for penalty arises only when any harm has been caused to subscribers due to willful violation by service providers.
It has been observed that in many cases repeated letters and reminders are required to make service providers submit the PMRs. The Authority is of the view that provision of financial disincentive will be a deterrent against such lapses by service providers. Financial disincentive, not exceeding rupees five thousand for every day of delay in submission of the Performance Monitoring reports is liable to be imposed on service provider.
BSNl Chennai Cricle Introduction of two new Longer validity STVs in prepaid mobile services
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Introduction of two new Longer validity STVs in
prepaid mobile services
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the
implementation of two new STVs with Longer Validity under 2G & 3G prepaid
mobile services in Chennai Telephones (incl TN Circle) with effect from
19.02.2013. The details are given below:-
·
Both the above two new STVs are placed in Group I and are applicable as long
as the customer
is in Home LSA only & while in roaming, necessary charges as per the plan
will be charged.
·
Both the above two new STVs are available for current plans and Nesam Group
of plans only.
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TRAI, TELECOM CONSUMERS PROTECTION (SIXTH AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 2013
1
TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY,
PART III, SECTION 4
TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA
NOTIFICATION
NEW DELHI, THE 21st FEBRUARY, 2013
TELECOM CONSUMERS PROTECTION (SIXTH AMENDMENT)
REGULATIONS, 2013 (2 of 2013)
No. 308-5/2011-QOS. ----- In exercise of the powers conferred under section 36, read with sub-clauses (i) and (v) of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997(24 of 1997), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India hereby makes the following regulations further to amend the Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations, 2012 (2 of 2012), namely:-
1. (1) These regulations may be called the Telecom Consumers Protection (Sixth Amendment) Regulations, 2013;
(2) They shall come into force on the 22nd of March, 2013.
2. In regulation 2 of the Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations, 2012 (hereinafter referred to as the principal regulations),-
(a) after clause (a), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-
―(aa) ―activity‖ means a voice call (outgoing or incoming) or video call (outgoing or incoming) or an outgoing SMS or a data session (upload or download) or usage of Value Added Services or payment of rental in case of post paid connection or any other usage, as may be specified by the service provider, as an activity ;‖;
2
(b) after clause (b), the following clause shall be inserted, namely :-
―(ba) ―Automatic Number Retention Scheme‖ means protection from deactivation of cellular mobile telephone connection of a pre-paid consumer for non-usage on deduction of specified amount from the account of the consumer.;‖;
(c) after clause (h), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-
―(ha) ―Non-usage‖ means absence of an activity ; ‖;
(d) after clause (l), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-
―(la) ―Safe Custody Scheme‖ means the facility for protection from deactivation for non-usage of a cellular mobile telephone connection of a postpaid consumer on the request of the consumer and on payment of specified amount.;‖;
3. In regulation 3 of the principal regulations, after clause (e), the following clause shall be inserted, namely :-
―(f) the details regarding deactivation of cellular mobile telephone connection due to non-usage.‖.
4. After Chapter III of the principal regulations, the following Chapter shall be inserted, namely :-
“CHAPTER IV
DEACTIVATION OF CELLULAR MOBILE TELEPHONE CONNECTION DUE TO NON-USAGE
11. Deactivation of cellular mobile telephone connection of pre-paid consumer due to
non-usage.-----Subject to provision of regulation 12, every service provider shall ensure that no cellular mobile telephone connection of a prepaid consumer is deactivated for non-usage, for a minimum period of ninety days or such longer period as may be specified by the service provider.
12. Automatic Number Retention scheme for pre-paid consumers.-----(1) No service provider shall deactivate the cellular mobile telephone connection of a pre-paid consumer for non-usage if an amount exceeding twenty rupees or such lesser amount, as may be specified by the service provider, is available in the account of such consumer:
Provided that the service provider may deduct an amount not exceeding twenty rupees, as may be specified by the service provider, from the pre-paid account of the consumer for extension of period of non-usage beyond ninety days.
(2) Upon deduction of the amount mentioned in sub-regulation (1), the non-usage period of the cellular mobile connection of the consumer shall be extended by a further period of thirty days and this process shall be repeated till such time the minimum amount exceeding twenty rupees or such lesser amount, as may be specified by the service provider under sub-regulation (1), is available in the account of the consumer.
(3) If a consumer performs an activity during the extended period of non-usage, he shall be entitled for a fresh period of non-usage of ninety days or such longer period as may be specified by the service provider.
13. Safe Custody scheme for post-paid consumers.-----(1) Every service provider shall implement a safe custody scheme for postpaid consumers.
(2) No service provider shall deactivate the cellular mobile telephone connection of a post-paid consumer for non-usage if such consumer makes a request for safe custody of his telephone
4
connection and makes payment of an amount not exceeding one hundred fifty rupees for every three months or part thereof, as may be specified by the service provider.
(3) The service provider shall not charge monthly rental from the consumer during the period of safe custody of the cellular mobile telephone connection.
(4) If the post paid consumer of the cellular mobile telephone connection has made payment of advance rent for a specified period, the service provider shall not deactivate the mobile connection of such consumer on the ground of non-usage during the period for which advance rent has been paid.
(5) If the consumer of cellular mobile telephone connection makes a request for restoration of his mobile connection during the period of safe custody, the service provider shall, within twenty four hours of receipt of request, restore his mobile connection.
14. The grace period for reactivation------(1) The cellular mobile telephone connection of a consumer deactivated for non-usage shall not be allocated to any other consumer till the expiry of a minimum period of fifteen days or such longer period, as may be specified by the service provider, from the date of deactivation and during such period the consumer can get his mobile connection reactivated by making payment of an amount not exceeding twenty rupees, as may be specified by the service provider.
15. Communication of information to the consumer.-----(1) Every service provider shall communicate to the consumers, in a transparent manner, the following information:-
(a) the period of non-usage after which the mobile connection of the consumer is liable to be deactivated;
(b) the details of the activities, the absence of which shall amount to non-usage;
(c) the details of Automatic Number Retention scheme;
(d) the details of Safe Custody scheme; and
(e) the grace period for reactivation of the cellular mobile telephone connection.
(2) The information mentioned in sub-regulation (1) shall be intimated to the consumer through :-
(a) Start Up Kit and Customer Acquisition Form;
(b) tariff leaflets or brochures, if any;
(c) display on the website, retail points of sale and complaint centres of the service
provider;
(d) publication in one English and one regional language newspaper every six
months along with the tariff published under direction F. No. 301-14/2010-ER
dated the 16th January, 2012; and
(e) SMS within ten days from the date of commencement of these regulations and every six
months thereafter.
(3) Every service provider shall, immediately on deduction of an amount under regulation 12, provide to the consumer through SMS the following information :-
(a) the amount deducted;
(b) the purpose for which the deduction is made; and
(c) the balance amount available in the pre-paid account of the consumer.‖.
(Rajeev Agrawal)
SECRETARY
Note.1. — The principal regulations were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4 dated the 6th January, 2012 vide notification number No. 308-5/2011- QOS dated the 6th January, 2012.
Note.2. – The principal regulations were amended vide Notification No.308-5/2011-QOS and published in the Gazette of India,Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4 dated the 11thJanuary, 2012.
Note.3.–The principal regulations were further amended vide Notification No.308-5/2011-QOS and published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4 dated the 21stFebruary, 2012.
Note.4.- The principal regulations were further amended vide Notification No.308-5/2011-QOS and published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4 dated the 7th March, 2012.
Note.5. – The principal regulations were further amended vide Notification No.308-5/2011-QOS and published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4 dated the 22nd October, 2012.
Note.6. – The principal regulations were further amended vide Notification No.308-5/2011-QOS and published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4 dated the 27th November, 2012.
Note.7. –The Explanatory Memorandum explains the objects and reasons of the Telecom Consumers Protection (Sixth Amendment) Regulations, 2013 (2 of 2013).
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. Several Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) currently prescribe a condition of deactivation if the Cellular Mobile Telephone connections remain inactive for a certain specified period. On such deactivation the balance amount in the account of the pre-paid consumer gets forfeited. This practice sometimes causes inconvenience to genuine consumers.
2. The TSPs contend that Cellular Mobile Telephone connections in a state of continuous non-usage not only block scarce numbering resource but also block their database space in various systems like the Billing System, Customer Resource Management platforms etc. Keeping such connections active in the system for unduly long period becomes non-remunerative for the TSPs. The Authority observed that the criteria for deactivation followed by TSPs are not uniform and also are not transparently conveyed to the consumers. With a view to protect the interests of the consumers while seeking to ensure better utilization of scarce numbering resources, the Authority had initiated a consultation process for seeking views of stakeholders on various aspects relating to deactivation of SIMs or mobile connections on the ground of non-usage. After considering the views of stakeholders and keeping in view other factors relevant to the issue, the Authority has decided to put in place certain regulatory guidelines through an amendment to the Telecom Consumer Protection Regulation, 2012. The Authority wishes to make it clear that there is no intention to mandate deactivation of Cellular Mobile Telephone connections on the ground of non-usage. It is solely at the discretion of the TSPs whether or not to prescribe any such condition for deactivation.
‘Non-usage’ attracting the condition of deactivation
3. The consultation paper had listed several possible activities which could constitute ‗usage‘ of the Cellular Mobile Telephone Service connection. The list of activities, absence of which constitute non-usage given in the regulation, is not exhaustive. While some of the activities have been mandated to constitute usage, the TSPs will continue to have the flexibility to include any other activity like activation of voucher, incoming SMS etc. in the scope of usage, if they wish to do so. 4. Currently, most of the service providers prescribe sixty days of non-usage as the criteria for deactivation of Cellular Mobile Telephone Service connections. The suggestions by stakeholders are generally in the range of 50 days to 180 days. The Authority has decided to prescribe a minimum of ninety days of non-usage with a grace period of fifteen days for reactivation. The service providers will have the flexibility to decide a duration of non-usage longer than ninety days for the purpose of deactivation. During the grace period, the consumer will have the option to seek reactivation of the same number on payment of the prescribed fee which shall not exceed rupees twenty.
Automatic Number Retention (ANR) and Safe Custody Schemes
5. The ANR Scheme which is meant for Mobile prepaid consumers enables the consumers to protect their numbers (Cellular Mobile Telephone connections) irrespective of absence of activity beyond the period (not below ninety days) specified for the purpose, by keeping sufficient balance in their accounts. The service providers shall extend the date of deactivation by thirty days on each occasion after deducting the prescribed amount not exceeding rupees twenty from the balance available. If during such extended period the consumer performs any activity specified as ‗usage‘, his Cellular Mobile Telephone connection shall be considered as active for a fresh period (not below ninety days) specified by the TSPs for deactivation due to non-usage. This process of deducting the specified charge under ANR scheme from the pre-paid balance of the consumer shall continue till such time the balance in the account falls below the prescribed amount under these regulations. This scheme does not require any explicit positive action on the part of the prepaid consumers and works automatically. The service providers also get compensated for the work done in keeping the Cellular Mobile Telephone connections active in the system. The ANR scheme ensures that forfeiture of balance amount in cases of deactivation due to non-usage is kept at the minimum and thus prevents unjust enrichment of TSPs. The amount already deducted from account of the consumer under the ANR scheme is not required to be refunded in case the consumer, performs activity during the extended period of non-usage under ANR scheme.
6. ‗Safe Custody Scheme‘ is meant for Mobile postpaid consumers. The concerns on account of deactivation due to non-usage are different and perhaps less relevant for postpaid consumers. Unlike in the prepaid platform, consumers in the postpaid plans generally pay monthly rental and are therefore entitled to remain as active consumers despite continuous period of non-usage. However, a postpaid consumer who expects non-usage of the Cellular Mobile Telephone connection for a considerable period, will be in a disadvantageous position as he will need to continue payment of monthly rental of the tariff plan despite non-usage. The safe custody scheme mandated through these regulations enables a postpaid consumer to avoid disconnection by making a request to this effect to his service provider and by paying the charges (not exceeding Rs.150/- for three months) specified for the purpose. Considering that the average revenue from postpaid consumers is several times higher than that of prepaid consumers and that the scheme presumes a voluntary positive action on the part of the consumer, the maximum charges for safe custody has been fixed at a higher level vis-à-vis the charges applicable in respect of ANR scheme for prepaid consumers. Moreover, in the case of safe custody, the postpaid consumer is not required to pay rental during the safe custody period.
7. If a cellular mobile telephone number is deactivated due to non-usage, the same number shall not be recycled or reallocated to any other consumer within a period of 15 days from the date of deactivation. In other words, there shall be a grace period of 15 days within which the consumer shall be entitled for requesting the telecom service provider for reactivation of his cellular mobile telephone connection with the same number on payment of the amount specified for reactivation.
BSNL Activation of some more STVs through SMS under GSM Services in Karnataka Circle w.e.f.20-02-2013.
Karnataka Circle has announced activation of some
more STVs through SMS, by sending the respective
keywords to 53733 w. e. f.
20-02-2013.
Sl.
No
Deno
minat
ion
Deducti
on from
Core
Balance
Validity
in days
Feature. Key word
to 53733
1. 31 27.59 1. Unlimited
Local/STD Onnet
VOICE31
2. 164 145.96 7. Unlimited
Local/STD Onnet
VOICE164
3. 344 306.16 30. Unlimited Local
On-net
VOICE344
4. 574 510.86 30. Unlimited
Local/STD Onnet
VOICE574
5. 894 795.66 90. Unlimited Local
On-net
VOICE894
6. 1494 1329.66 90 Unlimited
Local/STD Onnet
VOICE149
4
7. 44 39.16 30 1P/ 2 Sec Local
call Any Net
VOICE44
8. 132 117.48 90 1P/ 2 Sec Local
call Any Net
VOICE132
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