India’s mobile operators will be required to compensate customers for dropped calls on their networks starting next year, according to a new regulatory directive.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday ruled that from 1 January 2016, operators must compensate users to the amount of 1 rupee (€0.01) per dropped call, up to a maximum of 3 rupees per day.
Telcos will have four hours after a dropped call to notify the user of the compensation. Prepaid users will have their account credited, while postpaid users will see the amount of compensation on their next bill.
"TRAI is of the view that the mandated regime would provide relief to the consumers from the issue of call drops to some extent and spur the service providers to improve the quality of service," the regulator said.
"TRAI will keep a close watch on the implementation of the mandate as well as the measures being initiated by the service providers to minimise the problem of dropped calls and may undertake a review after six months, if necessary," it added.
The regulator made its decision have undertaken a consultation on the dropped calls issue and taken into account feedback from the industry.
Local press reports suggest that India’s mobile operators are not happy with the outcome, warning that it will not be technically possible to monitor dropped calls and that they will face hefty payouts to consumers.
The Business Standard cited unnamed sources as saying telecoms operators may challenge the TRAI’s ruling in court.
1 rupee per dropped call may not sound like a lot, but given that India was home to 989 million mobile customers at the end of August, according to the TRAI, the payouts could quickly mount up.
