New phone tariff strikes false note

MUMBAI, May 7: Consumer groups like the Consumer Guidance Society of India CGSI, United Consumers of India UCI, the Bombay Telephone ...

MUMBAI, May 7: Consumer groups like the Consumer Guidance Society of India CGSI, United Consumers of India UCI, the Bombay Telephone Users8217; Association BTUA and the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat MGP have appealed for a rethink on the recent hike in telephone rentals, call charge rates and reduction in the duration of call time. The MGP has approached the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to direct the Department of Technology DoT and Maharashtra Telephone Nigam Limited MTNL not to implement the new telephone tariff.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI had, in a circular on April 13, proposed to reduce the local call pulse rate from five minutes to three minutes and to increase the rental and call charges. This, according to the MGP, 8220;imposes a very harsh and unjustified burden on telephone consumers, particularly from the lower and middle income groups8221;. The increase in call charges alone works out to a whopping 265 per cent for those consumers who have been making between 200 to5,000 calls during their bi-monthly bill period. In a letter to Vajpayee, the organisation accused the TRAI of burdening poor consumers with the hike and of giving concessions to the wealthy consumers by relaxing the rates for STD and ISD calls.

The MGP added that the hike is inconsistent with profits made by DoT and MTNL. It has quoted Rs 22 crore as the aggregate DoT/MTNL profit for the last six years. The panchayat also argued that the proposed tariff revision will defeat one of the main objectives of the new telecom policy 8211; to increase teledensity in the country 8211; and may compel consumers to surrender their telephone connections.

Calling for transparency in dealings of the TRAI, CGSI, UCI and BTUA said data is crucial to consumers and that their representatives should be consulted before arriving at major decisions. TRAI has based the cost calculations of rentals and call charges on the basis of data supplied by DoT, which has been assumed to be genuine.

The CGSI, UCI and BTUA have also demanded acontinuous interactive participation of consumer organisations with TRAI in an institutionalised manner. They also want changes in the composition of TRAI, to include the Chief Justice of India and three retired judges of the Supreme Court or High Court, a representative of the Government of India nominated by the Prime Minister8217;s Office and one representative of consumer organisations nominated by the Consumer Coordination Council, New Delhi on an permanent basis.

The organisations have also asked for a commitment from the head of all political parties to introduce in their manifesto their support for amendments to the TRAI Act within six months of the formation of the 13th Lok Sabha and the passing of the Right to Information Act.