Lok Sabha Question No. 593 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-06
Subject: Tariff Transparency
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Shrirang Appa Barne, SHIVAJI ADHALRAO PATIL, SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE, ANANDRAO  ADSUL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.593 TO BE ANSWERED ON 6 TH  FEBRUARY, 2019

## TARIFF TRANSPARENCY

- †593.   SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE: SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJIRAO: DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE: SHRI ANANDRAO ADSUL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether transparency in tariff is an issue of prime concern for the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI);
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  extent  to  which  the  telecom  sector  is affected  due  to non-transparency;
- (c) whether  TRAI  has  been  receiving  complaints  from  consumers,  highlighting  lack  of transparency in carriers' tariff offers;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the action taken on these complaints;
- (e) initiatives  taken  by  the  regulator  to  determine  'relevant  market'  based  on  relevant product against which it receives a complaint;
- (f) whether the telecom regulator has fixed a penalty of Rs. 50 lakh per circle for every tariff plan that is found to be predatory; and
- (g) if so, the details of the companies fined for predatory tariff plan during the last one year?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) Transparency in Tariff is and has always been an issue of prime concern for the Telecom  Regulatory  Authority  of  India(TRAI).  To  protect  the  interests  of  the  consumers  of telecommunication  services,  TRAI  has  issued  several  directions  and  guidelines  in  order  to ensure transparency in tariff  offers.  It  has  been  the  constant  endeavour  of  TRAI  to  give  due importance to 'transparency' which is evident from the extant regulatory provisions and actions taken  in  the  past  in  this  regard.  As  per  report  received  from  TRAI,  important  steps  taken  by TRAI to enhance transparency in tariff offers are at Annexure-I .

However, despite these measures to ensure transparency in tariff, TRAI has received complaints from consumers and consumer organizations highlighting lack of transparency in the tariff offers of Telecom Service Providers (TSPs). In the recent past, TRAI has again reviewed the  transparency  measures  and  undertaken  a  consultation  process  on  issues, inter-alia ,

including transparency in tariff offers.  After the consultation process, the Telecommunications Tariff (63 rd Amendment) Order, 2018 dated 16.02.2018 was notified by TRAI.

However,  the  Telecommunications  Tariff  (63 rd Amendment)  Order,  2018  has  been challenged by some of the telecom service providers in the Hon'ble Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal  (TDSAT). The TDSAT, vide its judgment dated 13 th December,  2018, has set aside the Telecommunication Tariff (63 rd Amendment) Order, 2018 dated 16.02.2018, so  far  as  it  changes  the  concept  of  Significant  Market  Power  (SMP),  Non-predation  and  the related provisions and ordered that these provisions shall be reconsidered by the Authority at the  earliest,  preferably  within  six  months.  TRAI  has  filed  an  appeal  before  Hon'ble  Supreme Court of India and the matter is still subjudice.

(c) & (d) As per information received from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the TRAI Act, 1997 does not envisage handling of the individual consumer complaints by TRAI. However, the  complaints  received  from  consumers  in  TRAI  are  forwarded  to  the  concerned  Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) for appropriate action.

There is no separate category of complaints called 'Lack of transparency in carriers tariff offers'  maintained  on  Telecom  Consumer  Complaints  Monitoring  System(TCCMS)  portal. However, the total number of consumer complaints received in TRAI against various telecom service providers (TSPs) on Tariffs (like wrong charging of calls, wrong application of tariffs), during the last one year i.e. the calendar year 2018 is 1,325.  TSP-wise details of number of complaints is as below:

| Service Provider   |   Wrong application of Tariff |   Wrong Charging of Calls (prepaid) | Total   |
|--------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------------|---------|
| MTNL               |                             3 |                                   0 | 3       |
| BSNL               |                            34 |                                   0 | 34      |
| Aircel             |                            12 |                                   0 | 12      |
| Airtel             |                           474 |                                  18 | 492     |
| Idea               |                           216 |                                  10 | 226     |
| R-Com              |                             3 |                                   0 | 3       |
| RJIL               |                            83 |                                   0 | 83      |
| MTS                |                             1 |                                   0 | 1       |
| TTSL               |                            20 |                                   3 | 23      |
| Telenor            |                             2 |                                   0 | 2       |
| Vodafone           |                           435 |                                  11 | 446     |
| Total              |                          1283 |                                  42 | 1,325   |

(e) & (f) TRAI  has  informed  that  it  has  conducted  a  one  year  long  multi  stage  public consultation with stakeholders and issued 63 rd Amendment to Telecommunication Tariff Order, 1999.    TRAI  has  notified  the  Telecommunication  Tariff  (63 rd Amendment)  Order,  2018  on 16.02.2018  in  which  'relevant  market',  'relevant  product  market'  and  'relevant  geographic market' have been defined under clause 'la', 'lb' and 'lc' respectively and a penalty of Rs 50 lakh per  circle  has  been  fixed  for  every  tariff  plan  that  is  found  to  be  predatory.    However,  this definition  and  penalty  has  been  challenged  by  some  of  the  telecom  service  providers  and currently the issue is subjudice before Hon'ble Supreme Court of India.

(g) The relevant provisions are subjudice and are yet to be operationalized.

## Important  Steps  taken  by Telecom  Regulatory  Authority  of  India(TRAI)  regarding transparency in tariff offers:

1. With a view to remove confusion in respect of tariff plans marketed as having 'Lifetime Validity'  TRAI  issued  regulatory  guidelines  vide  Telecommunications  Tariff  Order  (TTO)  43 rd Amendment  notified  on  21 st March,  2006.  Any  tariff  plan  presented,  marketed  or  offered  as having lifetime or unlimited validity shall continue to be available to the subscriber as long as the service  provider  is  permitted  to  provide  such  telecom  service  under  the  current  license  or renewed license. The service providers were told to inform the customers the current period of expiry of their license.

2. It  has  been  mandated  through  several  Directions  that  no  chargeable  value  added service shall be provided to a customer without his explicit consent.

3. Service providers shall inform customers in writing, within a week of activation of service, the  complete details  of  his  tariff  plan.  The  changes  in  any  item/aspect  of  tariff  in  the  chosen package shall also be intimated to the customers in writing vide Direction dated 29 th June, 2005.

4. Direction  dated  1 st September,  2008,  and  48 th Amendment  to  TTO  notified  on  1 st September, 2008 mandate several transparency measures including the following:-

- (a) Tariff information to be provided in vernacular language also.
- (b) Blackout  days  (customary/festival  days  on  which  free/concessional  calls/SMS  are  not available) restricted to a maximum of 5 days in a calendar year. Such days to be prespecified and no subsequent alteration or addition is permitted.
- (c) Straight tariff reductions are to be passed on to consumers without any precondition.
- (d) The  service  providers  shall  not  insist  on  recharge  between  periods  lesser  than  six months  in  lifetime  plans  for  remaining  connected  during  the  promised  lifetime  validity period.

## 5. Telecom Consumer Protection Regulation (TCPR) 2012

TRAI has issued Telecom Consumer Protection Regulation on 06.01.2012 with a view to streamline  tariff  offers  and  enhance  transparency  in  the  provision  of  service.    The  main features of the Regulation as amended from time to time, are:

- Categorization of vouchers as - Plan vouchers, Top up vouchers, Special tariff vouchers and Combo Vouchers - with colour bands for easy identification.
- Minimum Font size for printed matter on physical vouchers not less than 8 Pt.
- Providing usage details to pre-paid subscribers after every call/data usage.
- Itemized post usage of account shall be provided at a reasonable cost not exceeding Rs.50/-.
- Providing information to pre-paid subscribers on activation of plan/top-up/ST vouchers.
- Improved transparency in provision of Premium Rate Services by prior information about charges.

## 6. Direction on publication of Tariff plans

TRAI  has  issued  a  Direction  on  publication  of  Tariff  plans  on  16 th Jan  2012.    This Direction is aimed  at  enhancing  transparency  in  telecom  tariff  offers  and  facilitate the subscribers to choose plan that suit individual requirement best. Service providers are to publish all tariff plans in a service area for prepaid and postpaid subscribers in the given format in one regional and one English newspaper at an interval not more than six months.  Full details are to

be made available at Customer care centre, PoS, website in the given format with a view to facilitate easy and transparent comparison.

## 7. Direction on preventing misleading advertisements

TRAI has issued a Direction  on  preventing misleading  advertisements on  26.03.2012. This Direction is intended to further improve transparency in telecom tariff advertisements and facilitate  the  subscribers  to  choose  plan  that  suit  individual  requirement  best.    It  has  been mandated  that  advertisements  published  by  service  providers  are  transparent  and  nonmisleading  and  unambiguous,  disclose  all  material  information  in  unambiguous  manner  and contain  the  website  address  and  customer  care  number  of  the  telecom  access  service provider.  The advertisements issued in vernacular languages should contain all the mandatory disclosures  in  the  same  vernacular  language.    In  addition,  the  service  providers  have  to maintain  an  advertisement  register  which  must  include  a  specimen  of  every  tariff  related advertisements, and carry out internal audit to ensure that they are complying with all aspects of this Direction and to report compliance to TRAI on half yearly basis.

## 8. Segmented Tariff Offers:

The segmented offers which have to be necessarily transparent and non-arbitrary, either for retention or acquisition of new consumers, are to be transparently filed with the Authority in accordance  with  the  reporting  requirement.    All  such  segmented  tariffs  are  to  be  publicly displayed,  inter-alia,  on  the  website  of  the  telecom  service  providers,  for  transparent  and complete  disclosure  to  consumers,  without  any  discrimination.  TRAI  has  already  reiterated aforesaid regulatory requirement vide its direction to TSPs dated 25 th May, 2017.

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