Sai Om Journal of Commerce & Management A Peer Reviewed International Journal ANALYSIS OF TELECOM CONSUMER OUT-REACH PROGRAMS IN RAJASTHAN

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1 Volume 4, Issue 4 (April, 2017) Online ISSN Published by: Sai Om Publications ANALYSIS OF TELECOM CONSUMER OUT-REACH PROGRAMS IN RAJASTHAN Ramdeo Arya Research Scholar Jaipur National University, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India rdarya1959@gmail.com ABSTRACT India is currently the second-largest telecommunication market in the world with quite a number of telecom service providers creating a lot of competition and for fair competition and level playing field TRAI issues regulations/directions/orders/guidelines. To spread consumer awareness about telecom regulations, consumer out -reach programs are being conducted by TRAI offices, Telecom service providers and Consumer advocacy groups. With the secondary data available with the TRAI regional office Jaipur and researchers experience in telecommunication field the analysis of the consumer outreach programs conducted in Rajasthan was done with simple average method and ratings offered by the respondents. Analysis revealed that eighty five percent respondents opined that these programs were effective in spreading awareness about telecom regulations. Suggestions given by respondents in these programs are taken as basic feedback by TRAI for forming new regulations and for making these programs more effective. Keywords: Telecom service INTRODUCTION The Telecom Sector witnessed substantial growth in the number of subscribers during the recent years. At the end of the financial year ( ), the subscriber base was million out of which million were wireless subscribers. During the year of , wireless subscriber base recorded an increase of million, while the overall tele-density increased from to The year also saw increase in rural tele-density from to while the urban tele-density also increased from to (Source: -DOT, Annual Report ). 12 India is currently the second-largest telecommunication market in the world with Rajasthan alone having 7.5 crore mobile connection. To cater such a huge pool of tele users many private players are rubbing shoulders to have a niche in the highly competitive telecommunication sector. Major telecom service providers in Rajasthan are- Airtel, Aircel, BSNL,IDEA, MTS, RCL, RJIL,TTSL and Vodafone. The entry of private service providers brought with it the inevitable need for independent regulator. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was, thus, established with effect from 20th February 1997 by an Act of Parliament, called the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, to regulate telecom services, including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the Central Government. 11 In addition to other functions of TRAI, through its regional offices located in different parts of the country, the Authority strived to increase its field level outreach by holding Consumer Outreach Programs (COPs) and workshops for enhancing consumer awareness and soliciting consumer Available online on 5

2 participation. These were efforts to improve the interface between TRAI and consumer and address systemic issues quickly. The COPs were held to disseminate information to consumers about their rights. Besides these, Regional Workshops on Capacity Building of CAGs and consumer education programs were also organized in different parts of the country by the TRAI. Through these interactive programs, the customers were informed about the various regulations/ Report on Activities / orders/directions issued by TRAI for protecting the interests of the consumers including the customer grievance redressal mechanism (implementation and effectiveness of the Telecom Consumers Complaint Redressal Regulations, 2012 (1 of 2012) dated 5th January 2012,the Telecom Consumer Protection Regulations 2012 dated 6th January 2012 and the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulation, 2010 dated 1st December 2010 and other regulations/orders/directions/guidelines issued from time to time). Many key issues that arose out of these interactions with consumers in these outreach programs have been addressed. 3 CONSUMER OUTREACH PROGRAMS TRAI mandated for increasing its field level outreach by holding Consumer Outreach Programs (COPs) and workshops for enhancing consumer awareness and soliciting consumer participation. These were efforts to improve the interface between TRAI and consumer and address systemic issues quickly. Other than TRAI itself, the Consumer Outreach Programs in TRAI are being done by Telecom Service Providers (TSP), CAG (Consumer Advocacy Group) and Department of Telecommunications. The various stack holders in theses COPs are- Consumers, Central / State Govt. Departments, PSUs (Central Govt. & State Govt.), CAG (Consumer Advocacy Group), Press / Media, Telecom Service Provider Representative, Universities / Educational Institutes, District /State Consumer Forum Representative, LCO (Local Cable Operator) & MSO (Multi System Operator) Representative, TRAI, HQ / TRAI, Regional Offices Representative and Chamber of Commerce & Industry Representative. F.Y. Table 1:Year-wise Details of Consumer Outreach Programs Conduction by TRAI, TRAI, Regional TSP s Educational Regional HQ Workshops (Approx.) Institutes Offices Awareness of health hazards from EMF Radiations per TSP per LSA per TSP per LSA per TSP per LSA % of SSA in State The Activities involved in the COP s :- o The Stake Holders are briefed about the functions of TRAI o Briefed about the Regulations/ Directions/Orders/Guidelines being issued by TRAI to protect the interest of the consumer. o Power point presentation having all the Regulations/ Directions/Orders/Guidelines being issued by TRAI to protect the interest of the consumer shown and demonstrated to all the participants. o Question & Answer Session related to these Regulations/ Directions/Orders/Guidelines. o Feedback from Consumers/Stake Holders. o Regulations 3 covered in these consumer out-reach program are:- VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 (April 2017) 6

3 Regulations 3 about Enrolment as a Consumer of Telecommunication services: Taking a mobile connection Start-up Kit Vouchers Information to pre-paid consumers on activation of a Voucher Information to pre-paid consumers relating to usage Past Usage details in respect of pre-paid mobile connections Information about the account of the consumer Regulations 3 related to complaint Redressal: Establishment of Complaint Centre Handling of complaints at the Complaint Centre Time limit for handling complaints and service requests Handling of queries Operation of IVRS on Customer Care Number Appeal to Appellate Authority Advisory Committee Handling of Appeals Disposal by The Appellate Authority Web based Complaint Monitoring System Telecom Consumers Charter Regulations 3 related to quality of service and billing accuracy: Quality of Service Monitoring of Quality of Service Billing Accuracy Regulations 3 related to Mobile Number Portability (MNP):- Porting procedure Eligibility for porting Grounds for rejecting porting request Withdrawal of a porting request Porting time Activation of ported number Regulations 3 related to Curbing of Unwanted Commercial Communications Main feature of Telecom Commercial Communications Customer preference Regulations How to register Complaints in case of UCC after registration. Regulations 3 related to Telecommunication Tariff Protection against hike in tariff Tariff plan with longer validity, including lifetime plans Tariffs for roaming services Safeguards for prepaid subscribers Safeguards for Post-paid subscribers Refund of Security Deposit Credit Limit for post-paid subscribers Safeguards common to Pre-paid and post-paid subscribers Tariff plans with misleading titles prohibited Publication of Tariff Plans/Tariff advertisements Black Out Days Regulations 3 related to Value Added Service (VAS): Instructions on activation & charging for VAS VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 (April 2017) 7

4 Deactivation of Value Added Services 3 METHODOLOGY Justification In recent 4-5 years consumer out- reach programs, seminars, workshops studies were conducted in different cities of Rajasthan by TRAI HQ and its Regional Office Jaipur. In addition programs at All India Radio, Doordarshan, Community Radios, were organized by TRAI Regional Office Jaipur and HQ for consumer awareness. Press releases were also being issued by TRAI HQ, TRAI Regional offices and Telecom Service providers for making consumer awareness programs. The regulations related with consumer rights are Telecom Consumer Protection Regulation, Telecom Consumer Grievance Regulation and Unsolicited consumer commercial communication regulation. Hence it was felt by the researcher to have a study on consumer awareness about telecom regulations in Rajasthan and analysis of feedbacks received during these programs. Objective To judge the Effectiveness of conduction of these consumer out-reach programs. Period of Analysis The period of study was from May 2012 to Feb 2017.The researcher worked as Advisor TRAI- Regional Office Jaipur and head of this regional office from 4 th May 2012 to 31 st Aug The help of TRAI regional office Jaipur was also taken for the extended period from to Data Collection To have a rich representation, the telecom consumers of the following cities were contacted for these programs- Udaipur,Jaipur,Pali,Jodhpur,Bhilwara,Ajmer,Kota,Alwar,Barmer,Jhunjhunu,SriGanganagar,Bikaner,N agaur,bharatpur,sawai-madhopur,chittorgarh,banswara,churu,sikar,jaisalmer,dausa,phalodi and Dholpur. Similarly, various educational institutes were also contacted to carry out these programs to bring in more even representation. In addition to this data, a secondary set of data was collected from DOT s and TRAI s website as well as from TRAI s regional office at Jaipur and consumer handbook. General Consumer Outreach Program and Analysis Questionnaire A questionnaire was prepared in simple language and understandable to respondents. This was containing 9 questions related with program expectation, length/period of program, opinion about coordination of program and PPT presentation, source of information about these consumer outreach programs, suggestion for further attending the program and over-all rating of the program. ANALYSIS OF COP S The COPs were conducted in 23 cities of Rajasthan state between and with an average participation of 160 and an average feedback received of 106 for the questionnaire circulated during these programs and the responses are tabulated as below Table 2: Details of responses of questionnaire in COPs COP Rajasthan S.N. City Date Registrations Feedback Year 1 Udaipur Jaipur Pali Jodhpur Bhilwara VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 (April 2017) 8

5 6 Ajmer Kota Alwar Barmer Jhunjhunu SriGanganagar Bikaner Nagaur Bharatpur Sawaimadhopur Chittorgarh Banswara Churu Sikar Jaisalmer Dausa Phalodi Dholpur Table 3 Details of responses of questionnaire in Interactive sessions /outreach programs done in Educational Institutes S.No. Name of Place of COP Name of College Date Participation 1 Jaipur Anand College of Engineering & technology Pali Govt. P.G. College Jodhpur M.B.M. Engineering College Tonk Asian Institute of Technology Tonk Joseph College for Higher Studies Chiitorgarh Mewar University & Govt. Polytechnic College Bhilwara Swift College Dausa Digambar Institute of Technology Ajmer Mahila Engineering College Kota Modi institute of Management & Technology Bundi Vedanta College of Engineering and Technology Bharatpur Chandravati Group of Institutions Alwar Institute of Engineering and Technology Sikar Bhartiya Engineering College Sikar Prince Polytechnic Group College Jhunjhunu Seth Motilal PG College Nagaur Tagore Engineering College Sriganganagar Sriganganagar College of Engineering Hanumangarh Saraf Institute of Engineering and Technology Bikaner Govt. Engineering College Jaipur Arya College of Engineering Jaipur Poornima College of Engineering Jaipur Rajdhani College of Engineering VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 (April 2017) 9

6 Q1.How far these programs fulfilled your expectations?:- Here the respondents were asked to give their one option (Out of Excellent/Very Good/Good/Fair) about How far these programs fulfilled your expectations? and the responses are represented in the fig Excellent Verygood Good Fair None COPs Edu Institutes Analysis COPs: - Out of 2451 respondents -> 888(36.2%) reported that these programs excellently fulfil the expectations, 809 (33%) reported that these programs were very good and rest are good and fair. Hence overall assessment was that the programs by and large have met the expectation of the consumers attending the COP. Thus the impact of the COPs, its format and content of the same has been excellent. Analysis Educational Institutes:-Out of 2108 respondents -> 642(30.5%) reported that these programs excellently fulfil the expectations, 742(35%) reported that these programs were very good and rest are good and fair. Overall the programs by and large have met the expectation of the consumers attending the COP. Thus the impact of the COPs, its format and content of the same has been excellent Q2. Program duration:-here the respondents were asked to give their one option (Out of Adequate/Very Long/Very Short) about Program duration and the responses are represented in the graph as below Adequate Very long Short None COPs Edu Institutes VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 (April 2017) 10

7 Analysis of COPs:-Out of 2451 respondents -> 2145(87.8%) reported that these programs have adequate duration (About 2hours and 30 Minutes).Overall assessment-the duration of the program has been appreciated by most of the consumers attending the COP. Analysis of Educational Institutes:-Out of 2108 respondents ->1724(81.7%) reported that these programs have adequate duration.overall the duration of the program has been appreciated by most of the consumers attending the COP. Q3(A).Conduction of the programme:-here the respondents were asked to give their one option (Out of Excellent/Very Good/Good) about Conduction of the programme and the responses are represented in the graph as below Excellent Very good Good None COPs Edu Institutes Analysis of COPs:-Out of 2451 respondents ->1039(42.4%%) reported that these programs were conducted excellently followed by 704 (28.7%)reported very good. Overall assessment - the frequency of the program was adequate. Analysis of Educational Institutes:-Out of 2108 respondents ->832 (39.5%) reported that these programs were conducted excellently followed by 621 reported very good. Overall the frequency of the program was adequate. Q3(B). PPT Presentation:-Here the respondents were asked to give their one option (Out of Excellent/Very Good/Good) about PPT Presentation and the responses are represented in the graph as below Excellent Very good Good None COPs Edu Institutes VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 (April 2017) 11

8 Analysis of COPs:-Out of 2451 respondents ->949(38.7%)reported that PPT presentation was excellent followed by 774(31.6%) reported very good. The overall assessment was that the program content, format and presentation have been appreciated by most of the consumers attending the COP. Thus the presentation of the COPs, its format and content of the same has been excellent. Analysis of Educational Institutes:-Out of 2108 respondents ->742 (35%) reported that PPT presentation was excellent followed by 752(35.6%) reported very good. Overall the program content, format and presentation have been appreciated by most of the consumers attending the COP. Thus the presentation of the COPs, its format and content of the same has been excellent. Q4. How did you get the information about this programme:-here the respondents were asked to give their one option (Out of RO JP/TRAI Site/TSPs/CAG/Others) about How did you get the information about this programme and the responses are represented in the graph as below Regional Office TRAI Web site TRAI TSP CAG Others None COPs Edu Institutes Analysis of COPs:-Out of 2451 respondents ->833(34%) got information of program by regional office Jaipur followed 844(34.4%) from TSP s, 280 from CAG and 261 from others and 93 from TRAI site. Overall excellent efforts done by TRAI regional office and Telecom service providers to make these programs successful Analysis of Educational Institutes:-Out of 2108 respondents -> 898(42.5%)got information of program by regional office Jaipur followed 181 from TRAI site,178 by TSP s,rest from others. Hence lot of efforts was made by TRAI Regional office Jaipur to made these program successful. Q8. Would you like to attend more such program? Here the respondents were asked to give their one option (Out of Yes/No) about Would you like to attend more such programme and the responses are represented in the graph as below Yes NO None COPs Edu Institutes VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 (April 2017) 12

9 Analysis of COPs:-Out of 2451 respondents ->2118(86.4%) would like to attend more such programs. Overall most of the respondents want to attend such programs again which reflects that these programs were effectively conducted Analysis of Educational Institutes:-Out of 2018 respondents -> 1856(92%) would like to attend more such programs.hence most of the respondents were interested to again attend these programs which shows that these programs were useful and conducted effectively Q9. Average Rating of this programme (1 to 10) = 8.52:--Here the respondents were asked to give Average Rating of this programme and the responses are represented in the graph as below Analysis:-Out of 10->8.52 score was given by the respondents which indicates 85.2% success rate of the programs Sr No Table 4:Year-wise COPs done and Participation Year Nos Participants Average Participants/COP Table 5: Question s Option-wise responses tabulation Question no Options Normal COP (2451 Respondents) Educational Institutes COP (2108 Respondents 1 1 Excellent Verygood Good Fair None Adequate Very long Short None A Excellent Very good Good None (4559 Respondents) VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 (April 2017) 13

10 4 3B Excellent Very good Good None Regional Office TRAI Web site TRAI TSP CAG Others None Yes NO None Out of CONCLUSION The combined analysis of the consumer out-reach program in general and in educational institutes revealed that:- Out of 4559 respondents -> 1530 (33.6%) reported that these programs excellently fulfil the expectations of these respondents, 1551(34%) reported that these programs were very good and rest are good and fair. The program by and large has met the expectation of the consumers attending the COP. Thus the impact of the COPs, its format and content of the same has been excellent. Out of 4559 respondents -> 3869(85%) reported that these programs have adequate duration. The duration of the program has been appreciated most of the consumers attending the COP.(About 2hours and 30 minutes) Out of 4559 respondents -> 1871(41%) reported that these programs were conducted excellently followed by 1325 (29%) reported very good. The frequency of the program was adequate. Out of 4559 respondents -> 1691(37%) reported that PPT presentation was excellent followed by 1526(34%) reported very good. The program content, format and presentation have been appreciated by most of the consumers attending the COP. Thus the presentation of the COPs, its format and content of the same has been excellent Out of 4559 respondents -> 1731(38%) got information of program by regional office Jaipur followed 1022(22.4%) from TSP s, 274 from TRAI site rest from others and Hence lot of efforts were made by TRAI Regional office Jaipur to made these program successful. Out of 4559 respondents -> 3974(87%) would like to attend more such programs. Out of 10->8.52 score was given by the respondents which indicates 85.2% success rate of the programs Hence 85.2% consumers who attended these programs were having opinion that these programs were effective for making them aware about telecom regulations The analysis totally based on the secondary data in the form of feedback forms received during these consumer outreach programs. The analysis limited to the districts in which the consumer outreach programs done. All the districts of Rajasthan and all the educational institutes were not covered, In addition, few notable suggestions from respondents during the consumer-outreach programs are listed below:-- PPT should be in Hindi VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 (April 2017) 14

11 Some more point related with latest regulations to be added in PPT(EMF, Spectrum, new Regulations). Presentation can be made more interactive by adding related Diagrams, audio visual ads. Such programs should be conducted in rural areas also Such Programs should be conducted more and more. New Regulations of TRAI may be communicated to Consumers and accordingly PPT should be updated very frequently to accommodate new regulations The information program should be published through electronic media also. Consumer Outreach programs should be frequently conducted in Schools,Colleges Such Programs should be conducted with NGO's The PPT should be provided to all consumers on mail id who have attended. Important suggestions given by consumers in these programs for TRAI s action for fresh consultations for forming new regulations and modification in the existing regulations/directions/orders/guidelines: National roaming should be free. Combined advertisement may be given by all Telecom service providers for Black out days to avoid confusion as well as saving cost for the operators. Once Service providers give offers at the time of MNP and should not withdraw later-on. Though the time limit for complaint redressal is fixed still the complaints are not being attended within that time limit. On start & completion of time limit the VAS are automatically renewed and message comes that kindly dial if you want to close it. Rather message should come that kindly dial if you want to extend the VAS. Unsolicited Commercial communications should be completely stopped. Methods should be evolved for controlling call drop and connectivity problem consequent upon removal of BTS from schools. There must be a toll free help line from TRAI to register complaint from the customer and that number should be displayed at every retail outlet and consumer service contact point. Data service should be cheaper Addhar card should also be applicable for acquiring new SIM. Service provider announced reminder for pending dues but delivery of bill are not being ensured. The services should not be disconnected on Saturday and Sunday due to nonpayment of bills. Loyalty should be kept in mind while taking late fee from consumer. There should be portability on Landline, as a lot of difficulty to Industrialist is faced if landline number is changed due to shifting of house. The value added services (VAS are being started by telephone service provider without the consent of the consumer and balance is being deducted without notice. Customer care number usually remains busy. Call centre performance of all the TSP s is very poor and hence it should be looked during audit. TRAI should advertise about consumer rights through media / SMS / Broadcasting. VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 (April 2017) 15

12 TRAI should inform their new regulations by SMS to all customers. Tariff provided by All Service providers should be uniform and universal. Difference in tariff from one operator to other may be only 10 %. There are serious UCC problems of unregistered telemarketers. A central call detail portal of all the TSP,s should be formed to benefit consumers. There should be a method to find the identity of an unknown person who regularly disturbs. 3G services too costly need proper rates. Govt. should start national mobile portability There may be some provision so that people get information about how many SIM s are in his name to avoid misuse of his ID. Short code for all companies should be same. Time period for MNP to be reduce from 7 days to 3 days. Porting Process should be simplified as it takes too much time. Post Paid MNP process is Very Typical. MNP should generate UPC code with name of the customer to avoid misuse. Telecom service providers should not keep hidden cost as mention (*) etc. Regulation is required as different TSP s are charging different for delay payments. SMS pack validity should be extended by the number of black out days falling during the validity. REFERENCES 1. Mishra Suresh, Sreekumaran S.K, ChadahSapna (2015),Consumer Handbook, by Department of Consumer Affairs Government of India, ISBN : (pp1-64). 2. National Telecommunications Policy (2012)-by Department of telecommunications (PP -1-20), extracted from 3. TRAI (2015), Consumer s handbook on Telecommunications- by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, (pp-1-48), extracted from 4. Ibarra C. Venus -&, Revilla D. Charito (2014) In their study on CONSUMERS AWARENESS ON THEIR EIGHT BASIC RIGHTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FILIPINOS IN THE PHILIPPINES AND GUAM -International Journal of Management and Marketing Researchwww.theIBFR.com ISSN: (print) ISSN: (online) Vol. 7, No. 2, 2014, pp Ishak Suraiya&ZabilNurFaridah M(2012)-In their study on Impact of Consumer Awareness and Knowledge to Consumer Effective Behavior - Asian Social Science; Vol. 8, No. 13; 2012 ISSN E-ISSN Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 6. ITU(2016)-In their study on Regulatory Issues for Consumer Protection in Digital Financial Services - 7. Kaur Prabhjot& Kaur Inderjot( )-In their study on Consumer Awareness in Rural Area - SOPAAN :ISSN Oct 14-March Rengarajan.P.2012-Consumer awareness level of value added services on mobile phone service providers. Study of Vidyasagar College of Arts &Science, Udumapet.1 (10) (pp 44-57). 9. VelmuruganManivannasSenthilandVelmurugan MasaSakthu.2013-Customer awareness, perceived ease of use towards information technology, Adoption in 3G media phones usage in India. Study of D.B. Jain College, University of Madras, Chennai, India (pp1-23). 10. Wadhe P. Amit and GhodkeShamrao(2013)-In their study consumer awareness & perception towards usage of Mobile Banking - IBMRD's Journal of Management and Research, Print ISSN: , Volume-2, Issue-1, March Websites:- VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 (April 2017) 16

13 12. Websites : Websites:- VOL. 4, ISSUE 4 (April 2017) 17