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Mr J.S. Sarma

Thomas K Thomas

New Delhi, June 4 The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is working on an online consumer grievance redress platform that will enable subscribers to lodge their complaints against any service provider through the Internet or an SMS.

The platform will automatically direct the grievance to the particular service provider after which the regulator will set a time for resolution of the problem.

Speaking to Business Line, the new TRAI Chairman , Mr J. S. Sarma, said, “The regulator needs to be seen as being effective in addressing consumer-related issues. As of now, there seems to be no real platform where consumers can voice their grievances and be assured of redress. We are looking at setting up an online mechanism that will make it easier for subscribers to get their problems addressed. This will also allow us to keep us track of the status of the grievances.”

Before taking charge at TRAI, Mr Sarma was Chairman of the Telecom Commission and then a Member of the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).

Mr Sarma said that improving quality of services is on the agenda.

“We are exploring the option of putting out the results of our quality of services survey in the form of advertisements in newspapers so that consumers are aware. This will certainly have an impact and in the competitive environment, the operators will try to improve. We are exploring this idea.”

The new TRAI chief said that his primary objective would be to make regulations conducive for sustained growth in the telecom sector.

“There are various surveys that project that mobile subscriber base will continue to grow and there are others which say that the growth story is going to stagnate. I want to focus on making sure that there is no ambiguity on this issue and make sure that the growth story continues,” Mr Sarma said.

More Stories on : Regulatory Bodies & Rulings | Telecommunications

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