Telecom tariff hike plan flayed

MUMBAI, Dec 4: A proposal of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to increase rental tariff has come under severe criticism w...

MUMBAI, Dec 4: A proposal of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to increase rental tariff has come under severe criticism with the majority of consumers demanding a justification for such an increase when internationally costs were coming down and incumbent operators were earning large profits.

The expenses incurred by the Department of Telecom were only 38 per cent of revenue, consumers said while demanding a detailed break-up of costs. Customers, during an interface with TRAI today, said cross subsidy and social obligation should continue and that cost-based pricing was a concept whose time had not yet come.

TRAI had on Thursday directed the state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) to submit a plan of action for improving service. The directive was given by TRAI chairman Justice SS Sodhi at an open session where MTNL came under attack from subscribers and various organisations. Sodhi said that quality of service parameters set by TRAI cannot be achieved overnight.

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He added thatwith the improvement of service, operators can be in a position to take on the increasing competition. “The quality of service has to be embedded in the management philosophy of telecom operators as it has affected consumers,” he added.

MTNL chief general manager S Ramani Iyer said that the company has given a thrust on improving accessibility and increasing telephone density. He added that the concept on quality of service was comparatively new and MTNL was committed to improving it in the years to come.

Iyer said several initiatives had already been taken by MTNL to improve quality. Optical fibre cables have been installed for 20 buildings in Mumbai which will be increased to 200 shortly. A service has been launched under the customer service management system which caters to complaints on wrong billings.

Iyer admitted that there were delays in releasing a telephone directory for Mumbai since 1994. “However, I want to make it clear that these delays were not in our hands as we had to depend on aprinter,” he added. He said that MTNL would sign an agreement in a week with the printer for production of directories. The company would also try to publish an instruction guide before this.