Indian operators that do not comply with the country’s new dropped-call compensation rules will not face penalties until at least 6 January, it emerged on Tuesday.
The controversial new regulation is still due to take effect from 1 January. However, according to a report by the Business Standard, the next court hearing about the dropped call compensation scheme is due to take place on 6 January, ergo, telcos that do not comply in the meantime will not be sanctioned.
In a bid to improve quality of service, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in October ruled that operators will have to compensate users to the amount of 1 rupee (€0.01) per call dropped, up to a maximum of INR3 per day.
The new rule will not apply to the receiving network, only the originating network, which has four hours to notify an affected user of the compensation. Prepaid users will have their account credited, while contract customers will see their compensation on their next bill.
Unsurprisingly, operators are up in arms over the new rule, arguing that it punishes operators for problems that are frequently beyond their control.
