TRAI’s proposal for telecom sector ombudsman unlikely to cut ice with DoT

The Vivo XPlay 6 is displayed at the Qualcomm stand at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Paul Hanna - RTS10YKQ

The telecom regulator’s proposal to have an ombudsman for the sector to address consumer woes may again come to nought as the department of telecommunications, which has to ensure that such an office be set up, is unlikely to accept the idea, according to a source familiar with the development. TRAI has twice in the past recommended establishing the office of an ombudsman or a similar authority.

The source said while the DoT was yet to take a formal call on the matter but the general consensus was that the sector did not need a separate dispute resolution mechanism as the money involved in them was very meagre.

“Telecom is not banking where savings and large sums of money are involved. Also, with portability, the consumer always has to choice to shift to a new service provider if he is unhappy with the service quality,” a DoT official told Moneycontrol.

He said the average revenue per user in the sector had come down to less than Rs. 120 and more than 90% of the 1 billion mobile subscribers used pre-paid services.

“In such a scenario when the costs for a subscriber are already so low, it doesn’t make sense to set up an office and maintain the paraphernalia,” the official said.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had in March recommended establishment of an ombudsman as it felt the existing system was inadequate to address the needs of the consumers. This wasn’t the first time the regulator recommended the setting up of such an office.

TRAI first made the recommendations in 2007 and then afresh in 2012. TRAI believes that under the existing system, the process of resolution ceases at the end of the service provider -- a not so desirable situation. In its own words, “no-one should be a judge in his own cause.”