The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has come up with new measures to protect consumers from bill shocks while using international mobile roaming service.

The regulator has issued new regulations — Telecom Consumers Protection (Eleventh Amendment) Regulations 2020 — that will come into effect 30 days after its publication in official gazette

The main thrust of the regulation is that it wants telcos to furnish more information to consumers using IMR services. All information relating to tariff, do’s and don’ts, consumer protection policies has to be provided.

Information should be provided to consumer as soon as the mobile equipment is switched on by the consumer in the visiting country, according to the proposed amendments.

“It has been decided that the same information be communicated by the telecom services provider (TSP) twice, once at the time of selection of tariff and subsequently at the time the consumer switches on the mobile equipment in the visiting country” TRAI said.

Considering the comprehensiveness of the information, the service providers have been given flexibility to communicate information link through SMS and send complete details as required by email and through their mobile applications, it said.

Also, information relating to data usage is to be provided to a consumer who has initiated usage of mobile set in a country/area not covered under the subscribed tariff or where the applicable tariff differs from the explicitly subscribed tariff is to be provided.