Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released its recommendations to improve quality of services offered by international roaming SIM cards / global calling cards of foreign operators in India.
TRAI said it received complaints from the consumers who had availed the services of Indian entities having NOC from DoT for sale / rent of international roaming SIM cards / global calling cards in India. The consumer complaints are related to overcharging, to poor customer care to transparency in tariffs etc.
TRAI said almost 50 percent of the users are unsatisfied with the services of the international SIM cards / global calling cards.
TRAI recommended DoT to cancel No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued to 23 companies / service providers who did not respond to the letter issued by TRAI on 27 August, 2016. DoT should take actions against the nine firms who have changed their address and have not intimated the same to DoT.
23 faulty companies
# Lyca Telecom
# Global SIM
# Birds Telebyte
# GO Talk Mobiles
# 360 Global Mobiles
# Medinyx Software Solution
# Supama Forex
# Friscon Telecom
# Seven Telecom
# Earthroam
# Trump Tele Ventures
# Tsim Communications Services
# Peak Mobiles India
# Roam Free Cellular
# Three Spark Telecommunications
# Ksquare Telecom
# Muni’s Telekom
# Rajeshwari Communication Infra
# Inext Connect
# Sawasdee IT Solutions India
# Wave Date Systems
# D-TEL Cellular Services
# Way2SMS International
TRAI is also asking calling card / International SIM service providers to come up with a portal with features such as network coverage, space for sharing feedback and customer complaints monitoring system.
Purchase of Global Calling cards/International SIM cards should be done though digital mode only i.e. Net Banking, Credit cards, Debit cards, e-Wallets.
The service provider, in case of Prepaid Card customer, will need to refund the entire amount paid by the customer in case the customer reports non activation of services, no usage of the card for reasons beyond the control of the customer like poor network coverage, in-compatibility of handsets etc.
In addition, service provider should pay a penalty of Rs 5,000 to the customer as compensation for the inconvenience and incidental charges. In case of the Postpaid card customer, service provider should pay the similar penalty of Rs 5000.
In case it is found that there are complaints of non working of cards are more than 10 percent of the total number of cards sold monthly by the service provider, then the NOC of the service provider be cancelled.
