If you're wondering about why the TRAI issued a rather stringent directive on subscription to mobile Value Added Services last month, and why it is considering licensing/registration of mobile VAS, here's an indicator: Milind Deora, Minister of State for Communications & IT has disclosed in the Indian Parliament, that the TRAI received 672 complaints last fiscal year, between 1st April 2010 and 21st March 2011, specifically pertaining to mobile VAS. Complaints included those regarding activation of value added services, including ring tunes on their mobile handsets by service providers without their explicit consent. Our Take: Just 672? Now if you're thinking that 672 complaints in a country of millions of mobile subscribers is a small number, you're right: it is. But think of all the complaints that don't make it to the TRAI, because there isn't a proper complaints mechanism. The TRAI regulations, that require that all services activated through an service provider initiated call or during pre-call ring-back announcements (both voice as well as automated) need to be validated through SMS or e-mail or FAX or in writing within twenty four hours of activation is harsh, because it ignores a significant segment of the user base that does not know English and hence cannot confirm subscription by SMS'ing 'Yes'. This will push a lot of subscribers out of the VAS ecosystem - many of whom might need services in Indic languages. Voice based services, in particular, have a much larger reach than text based. But this was bound to…
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