Will the Minister of COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:-

(a)    whether there has been degradation in performance and quality of many telecom service providers;

(b)    what steps the Department of Telecom is taking on the issue of network and service quality of various Telecom Operators (both Government and private owned) to their consumers;

(c)    whether it is a fact that most of the companies blame the spectrum availability as the only issue where as there are many other factors that cause poor services to consumers like, Interconnect, switch capacity, transmission, network design and optimization etc; and

(d)    what recourse is available to consumers when faced with indifferent and poor service from their operators?

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DR. SHAKEEL AHMAD)

(a) As per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), a comparison of the Performance Monitoring Reports (PMRs) for the quarters ending 30.6.06 and 30.9.06 shows that, in case of Cellular Mobile services, the performance of service providers meeting the Quality of Services benchmark has improved. In the case of basic services, the performance of service providers has improved for some of the parameters only.

(b) Following steps have been taken by the Government for improving the quality of Telecom Services:

(i) Holding the periodic meetings with the Telecom Service Providers.

(ii) Holding periodic meetings with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)/Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and the private Telecom Service Providers to facilitate provision of interconnection.

(iii) Continuous efforts to co-ordinate and release additional spectrum from existing users.

(iv) Pursuing with local authorities for expeditious clearance of cell sites.

(c) According to the Telecom Service Providers, shortage of spectrum is a key factor for degradation in performance and quality of service.

(d) Department of Telecommunications has instructed service providers to set up redressal mechanism at call centre level and the appellate authority level. Consumer can also approach Public Grievances (PG) cell of Department of Telecommunications. In addition, there are options of Consumer Courts and Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) (for a group of consumers).