The Delhi HC on Monday upheld an order passed by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) which stated that all telecom operators will have to pay Re 1 to compensate consumers in case of call drops, reports The Indian Express. “Petitioners are bound to comply with regulation 16 of the Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations, 2012, as inserted by the impugned notification dated 16.10.2015, with effect from 01.01.2016 and TRAI is at liberty to take appropriate steps in accordance with law for compliance of the same,” said the bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath. Telcos, COAI, AUSPI objections: The regulation that was originally set to be effective from January 2016, witnessed opposition from telecom operators as they filed a case with the Delhi HC along with support from industry associations, Auspi and COAI, challenging the order and calling for a stay on the decision. The TRAI told the court that imposing a fine on telecom operators by asking them to compensate customers for call drops, is a matter of policy decision, which the court should not transgress upon. In June 2015, the Department of Telecom had suggested the TRAI that operators should offer free minutes or credit to tackle the issue of frequent call drops, after it received several complaints from consumers about increasing call drops and falling voice quality. Accordingly, the telecom regulator asked operators to submit a plan of action to tackle call drops in July and started a consultation paper (pdf) in August. Falling standards: Earlier in February, the TRAI went…
