Subscribers consent must for activating data services: Trai

Telecom regulator is seeking comments till May 12 on the issue

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday proposed that service providers take explicit consent of consumers through a toll-free short code 1925 for activating data services.

"It is proposed that data services should be activated or deactivated only with the explicit consent of the subscriber through toll-free short code 1925, following the prescribed procedures for obtaining explicit consent of the consumer and for deactivation data," Trai said in the draft 'Telecom Consumers Protection (Eighth Amendment) Regulations, 2015’. Trai is seeking comments till May 12 on the issue.

Telecom players should inform mobile subscribers, who have taken data packs, through SMS whenever the limit of data usage reaches 50 per cent, 90 per cent and 100 per cent. And when the usage reaches 90 per cent of the limit, information about the applicable tariff beyond the data limit should also be communicated.

For those who have subscribed to data connection other than through data packs, it is proposed to mandate the service providers to providing of information, through SMS about quantum of data used and the tariff thereof after every 5,000 kilobytes of data usage, the regulator said. Subscribers should also be informed through SMS at periodic interval, not exceeding six months, about the prescribed procedure for deactivation of data. The regulator said it has been receiving several complaints from consumers regarding non-availability of information relating to the amount of data used during a data session.

There are also concerns over activation of internet service on mobile phones without subscribers consent and knowledge leading to sudden deduction of charges for data usage.

Service providers offer concessional tariff for data, up to a certain limit, through special tariff vouchers or data packs and also through certain tariff plans."As generally, the tariff for any usage beyond specified limit is substantially higher, in case the customer does not know about reaching the limit for concessional tariff, it results in substantial charges levied, leading to sudden bill shock or unexpected deduction of balance amount," Trai said.