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Quality
Control Measures
Customer
empowerment also includes strict quality
control measures, including attending to
problems and solving them within a given
timeframe, and also severe restrictions
on disconnections.
Trai
regulation says that the operators would
neither be allowed to discontinue any channel,
or the entire service, nor be allowed to
disable the STBs without sufficient reason
and proper notice.
The
regulation says that DTH operators would
refund the security deposit or advance payments,
if any, after appropriate and reasonable
adjustments in case of return of DTH Customer
Premises Equipment by a DTH subscriber.
This, too, has to be made clear in the application
form.
"In
case the equipment made available to any
subscriber before the commencement of this
regulation does not conform to the BIS as
applicable, the operator shall within seven
days of the commencement of these regulations
replace at no extra cost equipment that
conforms to the BIS," the regulation
says.
However,
this will not apply to those pieces of equipment
that have been tampered with by the subscriber,
the regulation says.
A
person seeking connection, disconnection
or shifting of DTH service connection will
now have to make an application in duplicate
to the operator in a format specified by
the latter, and the application shall be
provided to such person by the DTH operator.
The
application form shall contain name, address
and telephone number of the applicant; details
of schemes for provision of DTH equipment;
details of subscription package indicated
by the person; the number and names of all
the channels and value added services.
The
operator will then have to give a unique
customer identification number and provide
a copy of the Manual at the time of subscription.
All information furnished by the applicant
would have to be kept confidential.
The
operators will have to evolve procedures
for handling requests for shift in the place
of installation of the service, transfer
the service from one subscriber to another,
as well as for disconnection or re-connection
of the DTH service.
"No
DTH operator shall take off the air or discontinue
exhibition of any channel without giving
prior notice to the DTH subscribers, says
Trai and adds that the notice shall have
to be published widely.
Besides,
no operator shall discontinue the service
to its 'direct to me' equipment made available
to any DTH subscriber before the commencement
of these regulations, if it does not conform
to the Indian Standard set by the Bureau
of Indian Standards.
In
case DTH service is required to be interrupted
for the purpose of facilitating preventive
maintenance, the subscribers shall be given
a prior notice indicating therein the expected
date of resumption of service.
If
the home subscriber does not owe any dues
(including any arrear towards instalments
of hire purchase scheme or arrears of rent
for equipment of such operator) the operator
shall not be able to disable the STB of
that subscriber.
"No
DTH operator shall increase the charges
for a subscription package offered by him
to the disadvantage of the DTH subscriber,
or change the charges to the disadvantage
of the DTH subscriber for a minimum period
of six months from the date of enrolment
of the subscriber," the regulation
says.
However,
this regulation does not stop any operator
to reduce the price of the subscription
package within the period of six months.
Besides,
from the commencement of the regulations,
a subscriber can opt, during the period
of six months, for any other subscription
package offered by that particular operator
or any other DTH operator.
Billing
Issues
On
the billing issue, Trai has said that every
operator shall issue bills on post-paid
basis specifying the charges for such package;
the charges for the value added services
availed by such subscriber; the charges
for equipment; and the nature and rate of
applicable taxes.
The
operator shall supply to the subscriber,
at a reasonable cost, the information relating
to the itemised usage charges showing actual
usage of DTH service.
Call
Centres
The
operators shall have to, on or before the
date of commencement of these regulations,
establish one or more Call Centres for the
purposes of registering of requests, answering
queries, registering of complaints and redressal
of grievances of its subscribers.
Such
call centres will have to made accessible
to subscribers round the clock during all
days in a week.
No
call charges are levied upon, or payable
by its DTH subscriber, for calls made to
the "toll free number" or "consumer
care number" or "help line number"
or special number, as the case may be.
Redressal
of Complaints
The
operators will have to take steps to address
all requests or queries or redress all complaints
by the subscriber as early as possible.
The regulation lays down clearly the time
frame of reddressal of specific types of
complaints.
In
case the operator fails to redress the complaint
within the period specified in sub-regulation,
it shall give proportionate rebate to the
DTH subscriber for the period during which
such complaints had not been redressed.
Every
complaint relating to billing of DTH service
shall have to be redressed within seven
days of receiving such complaint from the
DTH subscriber and refunds, if any, due
to him, shall be made to such subscriber
within 30 days of making of such complaint
by him.
What
is important also is that the operators
would have to appoint a Nodal Officer in
each state, whose contacts would have to
be made known to subscribers and the latter
would have the right to complain to him
either in writing or through phone or Internet.
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