BWI: BJP Telecom Consumer Cell Fights Against Nuisance SMSs/Calls

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: BJP Telecom Consumer Cell
Thursday, January 27, 2011 05:30 PM IST (12:00 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, People, Politics, Social issues; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Retailers, Telecommunications
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BJP Telecom Consumer Cell Fights Against Nuisance SMSs/Calls
. Telecom/marketing companies should compensate user for receiving SMS--National Convener Sanjay Bhalla . BJP presents memorandum of demands related to nuisance SMS/calls to TRAI Chairman Dr JS Sarma . BJP telecom consumer initiative the first of its kind by any Indian political party . BJP Telecom Consumer Cell to take up issues relating to consumer redress, telecom policy, and standards . DTH, Cable TV, Internet also part of Cell's agenda

New Delhi, Delhi, India, Thursday, January 27, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- The Bharatiya Janata Party's newly constituted Telecom Consumer Cell has announced the launch of a campaign against the menace of unsolicited text SMSs and automated voice calls.

Sanjay Bhalla, the National Convener of the BJP Telecom Consumer Cell submitted BJP's memorandum of demands related to this issue to Dr JS Sarma, Chairperson of TRAI, today.

The memorandum demands the implementation of a system that makes it mandatory for telecom service providers and telemarketer to pay telecom users for unsolicited text SMSs and automated voice calls.

In his meeting today with Dr Sarma, Mr Bhalla pointed out that, in the TRAI policy guidelines document for UCC (No 305-17/2010-QoS, dated 1 December 2010), on the setting up and enforcement of rules for Access Providers and Telemarketers with respect to UCCs, clauses pertaining to the penalties merely specify that ".the penalty amounts shall be deducted from the security deposit of the telemarketer and deposited in the account as may be specified by TRAI, from time to time.." (Schedule 4, Clause 10).

"Surprisingly there is no reference on compensating the telecom consumer for the inconvenience caused and the unsolicited use of the resource by the telemarketer. By law, the cell phone is the private property of the telecom user; therefore it is the consumer's right to be paid for the usage of the private resource by a third party-in this case, the Access Provider/telemarketer," says Mr Bhalla.

The BJP Telecom Consumer Cell has demanded that TRAI should issue a notification directing the Access Provides to directly credit the accounts of telecom users as per below:

. For Every Unsolicited Commercial Communication (SMS) :
o 5/- (Rupees Five) per such marketing SMS
. For Every Unsolicited Commercial Communication (Voice Call):
o 10/- ( Rupees Ten) per such marketing call

According to Mr Bhalla, the system is technically feasible: "We have discussed this issue with several telecom providers and they do not see much difficulty in implementing this system."

According to Mr Bhalla, the proposed system not only benefits the average consumer but also the service providers and poor consumers. "The number of unsolicited SMSs will drop, while those who do wish to receive SMS will get paid for it-the extra money could be used to making phone calls thus providing extra billings to the service provider," says Mr Bhalla.

About the BJP Telecom Consumer Cell

The mission of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Telecom Consumer Cell-the first consumer initiative of its kind by any Indian political party--is to be the voice of the Indian telecom consumer on all service and policy issues relating to telecommunications.
The telecom sector will be one of the prime drivers of the Indian economy in the coming decades. However, the 75 crore subscribers of telecom and related services have little say in the debate on telecom policy; neither do consumers have a strong forum that can interact with service providers on issues relating to the quality of service and the transparency that consumers should rightfully expect.

Led by National Convener Shri Sanjay Bhalla and a National Executive and Expert Group that consists of technologists and other prominent personalities, BJP Telecom Consumer Cell will proactively keep highlighting such public-policy issues inside and outside the Parliament in the larger interest of the telecom users of India.



CONTACT DETAILS
Sanjay Bhalla, National Convenor, BJP Telecom Consumer Cell, +91 9810119898, sanjay.bhalla@bjp.org

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, PEOPLE, POLITICS, SOCIAL, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, RETAIL, TELECOMMUNICATIONS

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