New Telecom Regulations Raise Industry Concerns

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has introduced new quality of service norms that require telecom operators to compensate subscribers for outages exceeding 24 hours. Despite these stricter provisions, industry body COAI argues that these changes increase compliance costs without significant benefits for subscribers, highlighting persistent ground-level challenges.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has rolled out stringent new quality of service (QoS) norms, compelling telecom operators to compensate subscribers for service outages extending beyond 24 hours at the district level.

In a further crackdown, Trai has doubled the penalties for non-compliance, with fines escalating up to Rs 10 lakh for severe violations. These revised regulations, known as 'The Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wirelines and Wireless) and Broadband (Wireline and Wireless) Service Regulations, 2024,' also mandate monthly reporting of several parameters instead of the previous quarterly system.

However, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has voiced concerns over increased compliance costs brought on by the new rules, arguing they do not correspond to significant customer benefits. Despite these challenges, COAI affirms that telecom operators are investing in advanced technologies to meet regulatory QoS benchmarks.