Lok Sabha Question No. 2450 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-11-30
Subject: Telecom Complaints and Redressal Mechanism
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: NIHAL CHAND CHAUHAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2450 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30 TH  NOVEMBER, 2016

## TELECOM COMPLAINTS AND REDRESSAL MECHANISM

†2450. SHRI NIHAL CHAND:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there has been substantial increase in the number of mobile subscribers in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof during the last three years and the current year, State-wise;
- (c) whether the quality of services,  mobile network and consumer complaints redressal mechanism of the mobile services providers are not satisfactory;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  details  of  complaints  received  against  the operators, operator-wise during the last three years and the current year; and
- (e) the action taken by the Government against erring operators, operator-wise and the measures taken to improve the services?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a)&(b) Yes, there has been an increase in the number of mobile subscribers in the country over the last three years. The details are given in Annexure-I.

- (c) to (e) Telecom  Regulatory  Authority  of  India  (TRAI)  monitors  the  performance  of service  providers  against  the  benchmark  for  the  various  quality  of  service  parameters  laid down  by  TRAI  through  Quality  of  Service  Regulations,  by  way  of  Performance  Monitoring Report (PMR) submitted by service provider on service area wise basis.

As  per  the  Performance  Monitoring  Report  (PMR)  issued  by  TRAI  for  the  quarter ending June, 2016 service providers for 2G and  3G services are generally complying with the various Quality of Service (QoS) parameters. However some of the QoS parameters like call drop, calls answered by operators, refund of deposit  after closure etc. are not complied with fully.  It  is  also  seen  that  the  performance  of  service  providers,  both  2G  and  3G,  have improved in respect of most of the parameters over the last quarter ending March, 2016.

Regarding  functioning  of  Grievance  Redressal  Mechanism,  TRAI  assesses  the performance  of  the  service  providers  through  two  parameters  viz.  'Accessibility  of  call centre/customer care' and 'Time taken for refund of deposit after closures. From the PMR for the quarter ending June, 2016 it is seen that while most of the service providers have met the benchmark for the parameter 'Accessibility of call centre/customer care',  a large number of service providers have not met the benchmark for the parameter 'Time taken for refund of deposit after closures'.

For improving the quality of service, TRAI has taken the following steps:

- (i) Close  monitoring  of  performance  of  service  providers,  against  the  benchmarks  for various  Quality  of  Service  parameters  laid  down  by  TRAI,  through  periodic  reports from service providers.
- (ii) Follow  up  action  with  service  providers  and  action  plan  for  improving  quality  of service, including for Call Drop parameters.
- (iii) Meeting  with  the  service  providers  at  CMD/CEO  level  to  evaluate  the  performance against action plan including for Call Drop parameters.

- (iv) Audit and Assessment of Quality of Service through independent agencies.
- (v) Assessment  of  customer  perception  of  service  through  surveys  by  independent agencies.
- (vi) Publication of results of Audit & Assessment of Quality of Service, including for Call Drop parameters and Surveys on TRAI website namely www.trai.gov.in for information of stakeholders, forcing the service providers to improve its service.
- (vii) Imposition  of  financial  disincentives  for  non-compliance  with  the  benchmarks  for Quality of Service parameters.
- (viii) Review of network related Quality of Service parameters and benchmarks for mobile services,  including  for  call  drop  parameters,  to  improve    quality  of  experience  by consumers.
- (ix) TRAI has recently launched TRAI analytics portal www.analytics.trai.gov.in. The TRAI QoS Analytics portal provides a graphical view on the map of India the performance of the  2G    service  providers  on  call  drop  (on  all  India  level,  service  area  level,  district level and Base Transceiver Station(BTS) level), BTS density per square kilometer and network utilisation so that the consumers can have informed choice based on quality of service.
- (x) For  addressing  Call  Drop,  TRAI  regularly  undertakes  the  drive  tests  of  mobile networks in select cities, highways and railway routes to assess the Quality of Service and coverage around the areas covered in the drive test routes.
- (xi) The results of Drive tests are shared with the service providers for improving Quality of Service and coverage in the areas identified in the Drive Tests.

The details of complaints received against the operators, operator-wise during the last three years and the current year is at Annexure - II .

## Financial Disincentives imposed on violations

## I. Non-Compliance with the Quality of Service Benchmarks

The  details  of  financial  disincentives  imposed  by  TRAI  on  the  Cellular  Service  Telecom providers (2G & 3G) for non-compliance with the Quality of Service Benchmarks are given below (cumulative figures since March 2013 to March 2016):

| 2G Services   | Total Rs. (in lakhs)   |
|---------------|------------------------|
| Aircel        | 302.50                 |
| Bharti        | 40                     |
| BSNL          | 227                    |
| IDEA          | 25.50                  |
| MTNL          | 1.5                    |
| RCOM          | 132.50                 |
| RTL           | 32                     |
| Sistema       | 3                      |
| Tata          | 89                     |
| Telewings     | 13.50                  |
| Vodafone      | 84                     |
| Total         | 950.50                 |
| 3G Services   |                        |
| Aircel        | 156.50                 |
| BSNL          | 70                     |
| Vodafone      | 2.5                    |
| Total         | 229                    |

Source: TRAI

## II. Mobile Number Portability (MNP)

Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2012 dated 19 th September,  2012  provides  financial  disincentives  for  unjustified  rejection  of  porting request other than specified in Regulation 12 of MNP Regulations, 2009 and for violation of timelines specified in the regulations. During last three years and the current year, operator wise, the number of instances of violations of Mobile Number Portability Regulations, 2009 are  as  under,  against  which  Financial  Disincentive  of  Rs.10,000/-  per  violation  has  been levied by TRAI:-

| Name of TSP   | 2013-2014   | 2014- 2015   | 2015-2016   | 2016-2017   |   Total |
|---------------|-------------|--------------|-------------|-------------|---------|
| Aircel        |             | 1            | 4           |             |       5 |
| Bharti Airtel | 2           | 2            |             |             |       4 |
| Idea          |             | 2            |             |             |       2 |
| MTNL          |             | 2            |             |             |       2 |
| RCL           |             |              | 5           |             |       5 |
| Loop          | 6           | 3            |             |             |       9 |
| Vodafone      | 5           | 24           |             |             |      29 |
| TOTAL         | TOTAL       | TOTAL        | TOTAL       | TOTAL       |      56 |

(Total amount of Financial Disincentive is Rs.5,60,000/-)

Source: TRAI

Contd…4/-

## Service area wise number of mobile subscribers during the last three years and the current year as on 30.09.2016 in the country:

| Sr. No.                 | Service area   | As on 31.03.2014   | As on 31.03.2015   | As on 31.03.2016   | As on 30.09.2016   |
|-------------------------|----------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
| 1                       | Andhra Pradesh | 67.15              | 71.95              | 74.65              | 73.55              |
| 2                       | Assam          | 15.28              | 17.15              | 18.56              | 19.61              |
| 3                       | Bihar          | 61.59              | 69.31              | 74.51              | 75.67              |
| 4                       | Gujarat        | 54.54              | 58.56              | 62.27              | 61.92              |
| 5 Haryana               | 21.25          |                    | 22.01              | 23.26              | 21.56              |
| 6 Himachal Pradesh      | 7.12           | 7.86               | 8.89               | 9.16               |                    |
| 7 Jammu & Kashmir       | 7.94           | 9.31               | 9.82               | 9.49               |                    |
| Karnataka               | 54.32          | 58.05              | 61.34              | 61.61              | 8                  |
| 9 Kerala                | 31.12          | 31.35              | 34.31              |                    | 35.02              |
| 10 Madhya Pradesh       | 55.48          | 60.60              |                    | 65.67              | 61.99              |
| 11 Maharashtra          | 72.59          | 76.94              | 84.10              | 84.00              |                    |
| North East              | 9.41           | 10.50              | 11.07              |                    | 11.69              |
| Odisha                  | 25.13          | 27.87              | 29.06              | 30.46              | 12 13              |
| 14 Punjab               | 31.21          | 30.63              |                    | 31.75              | 32.48              |
| 15 Rajasthan            | 52.65          | 55.21              |                    | 60.09              | 60.23              |
| 16 Tamil Nadu           | 75.17          | 80.32              |                    | 81.35              | 81.14              |
| 17 Uttar Pradesh (East) | 76.98          | 83.40              |                    | 92.24              | 93.92              |
| 18 Uttar Pradesh (West) | 48.76          | 52.02              |                    | 57.60              | 57.62              |
| 19 West Bengal          | 42.29          | 47.07              |                    | 49.50              | 51.46              |
| 20 Kolkata              | 21.07          |                    | 22.56              | 25.03              | 25.11              |
| 21 Delhi                | 42.58          | 46.19              |                    | 47.24              | 45.22              |
| 22 Mumbai               | 30.89          |                    | 30.67              | 31.80              | 31.33              |
|                         | Total          | 904.52             | 969.54             | 1034.11            | 1034.24            |

Source: DoT compiled data

## ANNEXURE-I

Contd…5/-

Service Providers wise total No. of Complaints received in TRAI during the last three and current year

| Service Provider   | 2013 (1.1.2013 to 31.12.2013)   |   2014 (1.1.2014 to 31.12.2014) |   2015 (1.1.2015 to 31.12.2015) |   2016 (1.1.2016 to 31.10.2016) |
|--------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| MTNL               | 488                             |                             546 |                             522 |                             260 |
| BSNL 1286          |                                 |                            1410 |                            1444 |                             794 |
| Aircel             | 1076                            |                            1066 |                            1085 |                             666 |
| Airtel             | 4609                            |                            4258 |                            6131 |                            5661 |
| Idea 2100          |                                 |                            2145 |                            2594 |                            1769 |
| R-COMM             | 3027                            |                            3299 |                            3527 |                            2907 |
| MTS                | 302                             |                             544 |                             801 |                             369 |
| TATA               | 2460                            |                            1707 |                            1464 |                             636 |
| Telenor/Uninor     | 262                             |                             246 |                             193 |                              89 |
| Vodafone           | 4143                            |                            4773 |                            5387 |                            3475 |
| Videocon           | 28                              |                              43 |                              49 |                              32 |
| Reliance Jio       | 0                               |                               0 |                               0 |                               0 |
| Loop Mobile        | 349                             |                             333 |                              73 |                               0 |
| HFCL               | 28                              |                               9 |                              19 |                              10 |
| TOTAL              | 20158                           |                           20379 |                           23289 |                           16668 |

Source: TRAI

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