REPORT ON

ACTIVITIES
(1st January 2015 to 31st December 2015)

TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA

TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA

Report on Activities
(1st January 2015 to 31st December 2015)

Mahanagar Doorsanchar Bhawan

Jawaharlal Nehru Marg
New Delhi-110002
 INDEX
Page no.
1. CONSUMER INTERESTS

- QUALITY OF SERVICE 1-4

- RETAIL AND WHOLESALE TARIFFS 4–9

- THE ISSUE OF CALL DROPS 9-11

- FULL MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY 11-12

- CONSUMER ADVOCACY & EDUCATION 12-13

- INTERCONNECTION 13-15

2. RECOMMENDATIONS

- SPECTRUM 16-18

- ADJUSTED GROSS REVENUE 18-19

- EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION & RESPONSE 20-21

- PRIORITY ROUTING OF CALLS 21-22

- VIRTUAL NETWORK OPERATORS 22-23

- BROADBAND 23-24

- DIRECT TO HOME 24-25

- FM RADIO 25

3. OTHER ISSUES

- CONSULTATIONS 26-28

- WORKSHOPS 28-29

- PUBLICATION OF TECHNOLOGY DIGEST 29

- GREEN TELECOMMUNICATIONS 29

- MIS PROJECT 30

- AUDIT AND SURVEY 30-31

- TRAI-ITU SYMPOSIUM 31

- RESPONSE OF TRAI TO DOT ON ISSUES RELATING TO SPECTRUM

CAP AND MINIMUM SPECTRUM HOLDING BY TSPS 31-32

- DIRECTIONS 32-35

- MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES RELATED TO TELECOM SECTOR 35-36

- MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES RELATED TO BROADCASTING SECTOR 36-38

 PREFACE

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is a statutory body set up for regulating
the Telecom and Broadcasting Sectors. TRAI was created by enacting the TRAI Act 1997 (as
amended in the year 2000). This Act, along with the notification of the Government dated 9th
January 2004, empowers TRAI to recommend conditions for entry of new telecom service
providers as well as terms and conditions of license and ensure compliance of the terms and
conditions of the license. The Act also empowers TRAI to lay down the standards of quality of
service and ensure compliance, specify the tariff policy and make recommendations regarding
terms and conditions on which Addressable Systems of TV shall be provided to the customers.
TRAI’s scope of work also includes issues relating to telecom and cable tariff policy, commercial
and technical aspects of interconnection, free choice and equal ease of access for the public to
different telecom services, resolution of conflicts that may arise due to market developments
and diverse network structures for various telecom services. TRAI also facilitates development
of forums for interaction amongst service providers and interaction of the Authority with
consumer organizations to further the consumer interest.

The Authority initiated various measures to promote the growth and development of the
telecom and broadcasting sectors during 2015. On the telecom front, TRAI addressed the
issue of quality of services of telecom service providers and enhanced financial disincentives
were prescribed on cellular mobile service providers for non-compliance with the bench marks
for both Network and Customer related parameters. TRAI also made in depth analysis of the
menace of call drop and put a regulatory mechanism to penalize the cellular mobile telephone
service providers and provide relief to the customer. Effective measures in consumer interest
such as full mobile number portability in the country were also taken. During the period
Recommendations were made to Government on ‘Implementation of Single Number based
Integrated Emergency Communication & Response System’ ‘Introducing Virtual Network
Operators in Telecom Sector’ besides other issues.

In the Broadcasting Sector, the Authority addressed the issues of Quality of Service of
Digital Addressable Cable TV System (DAS) and put in place a mechanism to penalize the
defaulting operator by make the provision of financial disincentive. Recommendations were
made to Government on ‘Reserve Price for auction of FM Radio channels in new cities’ besides
other issues.

Report on Activities (i)

 Through its regional offices located in different parts of the country, the Authority strived
to increase its field level outreach by holding consumer outreach programmes (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. TRAI also focused on effective implementation of its orders, directions and regulations.
Close monitoring of adherence to regulatory requirements, imposition of financial disincentives
for non-compliance, and institution of prosecution in cases of grave misdemeanor, all resulted
in better compliance and regulatory enforcement.

This report presents an abstract of the activities of the Authority during the calendar
year 2015. This report is also available in the public domain for information of all stakeholders.
The classification of activities has only been done to provide ease of reading. All the
recommendations, regulations, orders and directions etc. referred in this report are available
on the TRAI website www.trai.gov.in and can be referred to for detailed information. It is hoped
that this report gives the stakeholders a broader view and better understanding of the initiatives
taken by the Authority to enhance the growth of telecom and broadcasting sectors.

(Sudhir Gupta)
Secretary

(ii) Report on Activities

 REPORT ON ACTIVITIES

I. CONSUMER INTERESTS

Protection of consumers is one of the important functions of TRAI. The Authority has
taken several measures to improve the regulatory mechanism which contributed towards
improving consumer satisfaction. TRAI also interacted with consumer organizations to
increase their awareness and include their views and concerns in policy making.

Quality of Service

The Authority has laid down the standards of Quality of Service (QoS) for various services
provided by the telecom service providers (TSPs) to their customers. TRAI also monitors
and ensures compliance of the standards to ensure good service to consumers.

TRAI monitors the performance of service providers through quarterly Performance

Monitoring Reports (PMRs) and Point of Interconnection (PoI) congestion reports submitted
by service providers.

For ensuring quality of service, TRAI has been closely monitoring the performance of
service providers against the quality of service benchmarks through Performance
Monitoring Reports. TRAI is also having regular interactions with service providers for
improving quality of service. Further, TRAI has engaged independent agencies for auditing
and assessing quality of service and surveys are being done regularly through independent
agencies to assess the Customer Perception of Service. The results of the audit and
assessment of quality of service and surveys are published for the information of
stakeholders. TRAI has also been imposing financial disincentive on service providers for
failure to comply with the quality of service benchmarks.

Submission of PMR/ Issue of show Cause Notices/Issue of Orders to service providers:

Around 114 show cause Notices have been issued to Basic, Cellular & Broadband service
providers and 82 Orders have been issued to Basic, Cellular and Broadband Service
providers for the quarter ending September 2014, December 2014, March 2015 and June
2015.

Report on Activities 1
 Approximately a total amount of Rs. 4,14,75,000/- has been received so far.

Rs 3,48,50,000/- received for CMTS

Rs 44,50,000/- received for Basic

Rs 21,75,000/- received for Broadband

For the show cause notices issued relating to UCCs Rs 1,78,35,500/- were received.

For the show cause notices issued relating to Metering & Billing Rs 1,18,841/- were
received.

During the year, the following additional measures were taken to improve delivery of
telecom and broadcasting & Cable TV services:

1. The Standards of Quality of Service (Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems)

(Amendment) Regulations, 2015 dated 25th March 2015

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, notified the Standards of Quality of Service (Digital
Addressable Cable TV Systems) (Amendment) Regulations, 2015 on 25th March, 2015
applicable for Cable TV Services being provided through Digital Addressable Systems
(DAS) incorporating provisions for levy of financial disincentives on Multi System Operators
(MSOs) who are not complying with the regulatory provisions of Quality of Standards
regarding billing and issue of receipts for payment made by the subscribers. A provision
for financial disincentive of an amount not exceeding Rs 20/- per subscriber has been
made in the amended regulation.

The QoS Regulations also prescribe that the cable TV services shall be offered to the
subscribers either both on pre-paid and post paid payment models, with subscribers’
having option to choose. The pre-paid option offered by MSO shall be implemented through
electronic pre-paid mechanisms. In order to ensure that the MSOs honour the pre-paid
or post-paid option given by the subscriber in a timely manner a financial disincentive of
not exceeding Rs. 100/- per subscriber has been made on the MSO for each contravention.

The MSOs have been provided a timeframe of 60 days to align their business processes
for compliance with the provisions of the Regulations.

2 Report on Activities
2. Telecom Consumers Protection (Eighth Amendment) Regulations, 2015 dated
7th August 2015

The Authority after due consultation process and internal analysis issued the Telecom
Consumers Protection (Eighth Amendment) Regulations, 2015 on 7th August 2015. The
salient features of the regulations are given below :

i) Information to consumers relating to usage of data :

Service providers have been mandated to provide, through SMS or USSD —

(a) Information to mobile data users regarding data used, after every 10MB of
data usage to all mobile data users except users of special data packs (STV/
Combo/add-on-pack). The consumers to be provided an option to opt out if
they do not desire to receive such information.

(b) Information to users of various of special data packs (STV/Combo/add-on-

pack), whenever the limit of data usage reaches 50%, 90% and 100% of data
available in the account of the subscriber or when the data balance available
in the account of the subscriber reaches 500 MB, 100 MB and 10 MB. Further
the consumer shall be informed about the details of tariff applicable after
exhausting the data limit, when the data limit reaches 90% or the data balance
available in the account reaches 10 MB.

(c) An alert to international roaming customer cautioning him to deactivate data

service if he does not intend to use data services. The service providers’ have
been given time till 1st November 2015 for implementation.

ii) Activation or Deactivation of data services:

(a) Data services should be activated only with the explicit consent of the subscriber
through a toll free short code 1925. The data services could also be deactivated
through the toll free short code 1925.

(b) Data services through Special Tariff Voucher or Combo Voucher or add-on
pack will be deemed to have been activated with consent till the expiry of the
validity period of the voucher/pack or on the consumption of entire data,
whichever is earlier.

Report on Activities 3
 (c) The customers should also be informed through SMS at periodic intervals
about the prescribed procedure for deactivation of data. The service providers’
have been given time till 1st September 2015 for implementation.

3. The Standards Of Quality Of Service of Basic Telephone Service (Wireline) and

Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2015 dated
15th October 2015

In this regulation, TRAI had prescribed the revised financial disincentive on cellular mobile
telephone service providers for non-compliance with the benchmarks for both network
and customer related parameters. The salient features of which are given below:

(i) Not exceeding Rupees one lakh per parameter for first non-compliance with the
benchmark in a quarter,

(ii) Non-compliance with the benchmark of the same parameter consecutively in two or
more subsequent quarters, not exceeding Rupees one and a half lakhs for second
consecutive contravention and not exceeding Rupees two lakhs for each consecutive
contravention thereof;

(iii) Non-compliance with the benchmark for the same parameter in any subsequent
quarter, which is not a consecutive non-compliance, Rupees one lakh per parameter.

4. Direction dated the 29th July, 2015 to all the unified Access Service providers and
Cellular Mobile Service providers to submit the compliance report in writing and
also in the electronic form in Microsoft Excel format in respect of the parameters
of quality of service for CMTS

This direction seeks the compliance report from all the service providers in writing and
also in the electronic form in Microsoft Excel format in respect of the parameters of
quality of service for CMTS in the format number TRAL/QoS/CMTS/PMR/City in
Annexure-1 in respect of forty two cities including four Metro cities (district wise), in
Annexure II .

Retail and Wholesale Tariffs

TRAI protects interests of consumers through Tariff Regulations and determines the rates
at which telecom and broadcasting services are offered to consumers. Tariff regulation is carried

4 Report on Activities
out to ensure clarity and transparency in tariff offers to consumers and fixing of tariff charges
where the market is not delivering optimal rates. In view of the intense competition in the
telecom sector, the Authority has exercised forbearance vis-à-vis the tariff for most telecom
services. The following tariffs were specified during the period:

1. The Telecommunication Tariff (Sixtieth Amendment) Order, 2015 dated 09th April
2015

The ceiling tariffs for national roaming were last revised by the Authority through the
Telecommunication Tariff Order (Fifty fifth Amendment), 2013 dated 17th June 2013.
After examining the comments of the stakeholders and further analysis, the Authority,
through the Telecommunication Tariff (Sixtieth Amendment) Order, 2015 dated 9th April
2015, has revised the ceiling tariffs for voice calls and SMS while on national roaming,
which came into effect from 1st May 2015. This amendment brought about the following
changes in the tariff regime for national roaming service:

Item Ceiling tariff as per Ceiling tariff as per

TTO (Fifty fifth TTO (Sixtieth
Amendment), 2013 Amendment), 2015

Outgoing local voice call Rs.1.00 per minute Rs.0.80 per minute

Outgoing long distance Rs.1.50 per minute Rs.1.15 per minute

(inter-circle) voice call

Incoming voice call Rs.0.75 per minute Rs.0.45 per minute

Outgoing local SMS Rs.1.00 per SMS Rs.0.25 per SMS

Outgoing long distance Rs.1.50 per SMS Rs.0.38 per SMS

(inter circle) SMS

Through this amendment Order, the Authority removed the existing mandate to the TSPs
for providing RTP & RTP-FR and has mandated the TSPs to offer a Special Roaming Tariff
Plan to its pre-paid and post-paid subscribers. In Special Roaming Tariff Plan, incoming
voice calls while on national roaming shall be free, on payment of fixed charge, if any. The
Authority is of the view that the reduced ceilings will benefit all subscribers.

Report on Activities 5
2. Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Second) Tariff (Fourteenth
Amendment) Order, 2015 dated 06th January 2015

The Authority on 6th January 2015, notified the Tariff (Amendment) Order applicable for
non- addressable (Analogue Cable TV) systems in accordance with the Hon’ble Supreme
Court order dated 17th September 2014. The key provisions in the said tariff order pertain
to principle for pricing of new channels and channels converted from free-to-air to pay,
mandatory a-la-carte offering of channels at wholesale level and twin conditions, for non
addressable (analogue cable TV) systems. The existing provisions in this regard have not
been changed.

In addition, in this Tariff (Amendment) Order, it has also been specifically clarified that in
cases where the operators implement Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems (DAS) before
the cut-off dates notified by the Government, the regulatory regime pertaining to DAS
will apply and that the broadcaster will have to declare the genre of the channels from
amongst the specified genres.

3. Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Seventh) (the Direct to Home

Services) Tariff Order, 2015 dated 1st April 2015

Tariff Order applicable to direct to home operators prescribing a framework for commercial
interoperability of Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) offered by the Direct-to-Home
(DTH) operators to their subscribers was notified on 1st April 2015. The salient features of
the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Seventh) (the Direct to Home
Services) Tariff Order, 2015 dated 1st April 2015 are:

● Transparent price declaration of all types of CPEs by the DTH operators to enable a
subscriber to make an informed choice.

● Transparent and upfront declaration of installation & activation charges by DTH

operators which shall not exceed Rs 450/-.

● DTH operators to mandatorily offer an outright purchase scheme called Standard

Scheme for all types of CPEs on standalone basis.

● DTH operators may offer additional schemes including bundled schemes and rental
schemes.

6 Report on Activities
 ● In the rental schemes, DTH operators can charge a specified one-time interest free
refundable security deposit, installation and activation charges from the subscriber
during enrolment followed by specified monthly rental charges. No repair/
maintenance charges are permissible from such subscribers. DTH operators shall
cater for free maintenance and repairs of CPEs for three years after installation/
activation). In case of outright purchase and hire purchase schemes, DTH operators
may levy visitation charges not exceeding Rs 250/- per visit after the warranty
period has elapsed.

● Subscribers shall have an option of buy-back/refund for CPEs in all the offered
schemes including bundled schemes with an exception of rental schemes. In rental
scheme, subscriber will get back the security deposit.

● DTH operators may prescribe a lock-in period not exceeding six months for a
subscriber to remain committed. Subscribers can surrender the CPE any time subject
to levy of certain charges that have been prescribed.

● DTH operators shall setup collection centers at every district headquarters to enable
easy return of CPEs. Subscribers shall be provided with a toll-free telephone number
for registration of request for surrender of connection.

● Subscribers shall have option of returning the CPE by paying a nominal collection
charge of Rs 300/- to the DTH operator or to return the CPE at the designated
collection center.

● No other charges by any other name other than those specified in the TO can be
levied on the subscribers by DTH operators.

● DTH operators shall declare all current schemes on their websites while also
publishing all charges for each scheme. Subscribers to be given details of the scheme
opted by him.

● DTH operators have been given a time of 60 days to align their business processes
for compliance with the provisions of this TO.

Report on Activities 7
Tariff for commercial subscribers

Tariff Amendment Orders dated 8th September 2015 relating to commercial subscribers

TRAI notified two Tariff Amendment Orders (TAOs) on 8th September 2015 relating to TV
services for commercial subscribers, one applicable for TV services being provided through
analog cable TV systems (Non-CAS areas) and the other one applicable for TV services being
provided through Digital Addressable cable TV systems (DAS). The salient features of these
TAOs are as under:

● ‘Subscriber’, ‘Ordinary subscriber’, & ‘Commercial subscriber’ have been defined.

● Total forbearance has been prescribed both at the wholesale & retail level with
respect to tariffs for Commercial subscribers and the broadcasters have the option
to enter into tripartite agreements with the Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs)
and the commercial subscribers, if so desired.

● Broadcasters have been mandated to offer their channels/bouquet of channels for

commercial subscribers, on non-discriminatory terms and conditions.

● The Broadcasters have been mandated to file their tripartite agreements, if such
agreement is done with commercial subscribers, with the Authority within 30 days
of entering into such agreement.

● TV Signal to commercial subscribers have to be provided by DPOs only, in accordance

with “Policy Guidelines for Up-linking/Down-linking of Television Channels”.

These Tariff Amendment Orders have been notified in accordance with the Hon’ble TDSAT’s
Order dated 9th March, 2015 in the matter of Indian Broadcasting Foundation& Ors Vs TRAI
(Appeal No 7(C)/2014). It is expected that with the coming into force of these changes in the
regulatory framework for commercial subscribers, distribution of TV services to commercial
subscribers would be streamlined and would be available to them at competitive rates. It is
also envisaged that it would balance the interests of all the stakeholders in the value chain
and bring in complete transparency in the business transactions.

8 Report on Activities
Status on number of tariffs filed and taken on record by the Authority from 1st January
2015 to 31st October 2015 for Telecom Services

S.No. Name of service provider Number of Tariffs* taken on record

1 Aircel 1951

2 Bharti 2471

3 BSNL 1396

4 Idea 3852

5 MTNL 217

6 MTS 337

7 Quadrant 173

8 Reliance 2657

9 Tata 1380

10 Telenor 432

11 Vodafone 2254

12 Videocon 569

13 Standalone ISPs 1661

14 NLDO 14

Includes tariff plans, plan vouchers, STVs, CVs, Top-ups, Add-one, other VAS, Internet
related and leased circuit tariffs filed by TSPs

Addressing the issue of Call Drop

1. The Telecom Consumers Protection (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2015 dated

16th October 2015

In the past one year, consumers raised the issue of call drops in different forum,
complaining that their experience of making voice calls has deteriorated. In this context,
TRAI issued a Consultation Paper on ‘Compensation to the Consumers in the event of
dropped calls’ on 4th September 2015.

After careful examination of the comments received from the stakeholders and further
analysis, TRAI has decided to put in place a mechanism to provide relief to consumers by

Report on Activities 9
 mandating the following to every originating service provider providing Cellular Mobile
Telephone Services for each call drop within its network through the 9th Amendment to
the Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations, 2012 dated 16th October 2015:

(a) Credit the account of the calling consumer by one rupee; provided that such credit
in the account of the calling consumer shall be limited to three dropped calls in a
day (00:00 hours to 23.59 hours).

(b) provide the calling consumer, through SMS/USSD message, within four hours of
the occurrence of call drop, the details of amount credited in his account; and

(c) in case of post-paid consumers, provide the details of the credit in the next bill.

These regulations shall become applicable from 1st January 2016.

Other measures taken to address the issue of Call Drop

(i) TRAI has laid down the Quality of Service standards for cellular mobile telephone service
through regulations issued, from time to time. For assessing the performance of service
providers on call drop, both for 2G and 3G services, TRAI has laid down two parameters
viz. “call drop rate /Circuit Switch Voice drop rate (benchmark < 2%)” and “worst affected
cells having more than 3% TCH drop/Circuit Switched Voice drop rate: CBBH (benchmark
< 3%).”

(ii) TRAI also undertakes audit and assessment of Quality of Service through independent
agencies. Further, to gauge the customer perception of service, surveys are also undertaken
through independent agencies. The results of these audit and assessment of Quality of
Service and surveys are also published on TRAI website for information of all stakeholders
and action by service providers.

(iii) In view of the growing concerns on call drops and other network issues, Drive Tests were
conducted by Independent Agencies in Mumbai, Delhi, in June/July, 2015. Following
these drive tests, meeting were held in TRAI with the Chief Executive Officers of mobile
companies to finalize action points for improving network conditions including measures
for reducing call drops. In this meeting the Chief Executive Officers of mobile companies
assured TRAI of improvement in network conditions very shortly. The drive tests were
repeated in these cities in September to assess the improvement in network conditions.

10 Report on Activities
 These drive tests reports show improvements in network conditions of some of the service
providers. Also drive tests were held in Kolkata, Pune, Surat and Bhubaneswar in
September 2015 to access the network performance in these cities so that service providers
could be perused to improve the performance. Another meeting with Chief Executive
Officers in this regard to assess the progress in improving network conditions was held
on 29th October, 2015.

(iv) From the point of view of compensating consumers for dropped calls, TRAI had issued a
Consultation Paper on compensation to the consumers in the event of dropped calls for
comments of stake holders on 4th September 2015. After undertaking public consultations
on this issue and keeping in view the comments received during public consultations
and the interest of consumers, TRAI notified “The Telecom Consumers Protection (Ninth
Amendment) Regulations, 2015 (9 of 2015) on 16th October 2015, to be effective from 1st
January 2016. These regulations mandate originating CMTSPs to credit one Rupee for a
dropped call to the calling consumers as notional compensation, limited to three dropped
calls in a day (00:00:00 hours to 23:59:59 hours).

(v) To create further deterrent against continuous non-compliance with the benchmarks,
TRAI had recently notified “The Standards of Quality of Service of Basic Telephone Service
(Wireline) and Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2015”
on 15th October 2015, providing for increased Financial Disincentives.

Full Mobile Number Portability

Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability (Sixth Amendment) Regulations, 2015

dated 25th February 2015 for facilitating Full Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in the
country

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued 6 th Amendment to the

Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulation, 2009 on 25th February 2015
facilitating Full MNP (PAN India Portability) in the country w.e.f. 3rd May, 2015.

Earlier TRAI made recommendations to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for

implementation of Full MNP/National MNP and suggested amendments in the licences of MNP
service providers and mobile service providers.

Report on Activities 11
 Accordingly, on 3rd November, 2014, the DoT had issued amendment(s) to the MNP License
Agreement. As per the DoT, the Full MNP is to be implemented in the country within a period
of 6 months from the date of amendment to the Licenses, i.e. 3rd May, 2015.

In view of the implementation of Full Mobile Number Portability, some changes were
required in the MNP Regulations, 2009 (as amended). Accordingly, Sixth Amendment to the
regulations was issued on 25th February 2015.

In order to effectively utilize the numbering resources, provision has been made in the
regulations to reduce the time period for a ported mobile number, which has been disconnected
due to any reasons, to return to the original service provider (to whom the number belongs) in
60 days time instead of 90 days prescribed earlier.

Subsequently, on requests received from TSPs, DoT vide its letter dated 5th May 2015,
provided an extension of 2 months w.e.f. 3rd May 2015 for implementation of full Mobile
number Portability. Full MNP was finally implemented w.e.f. 3rd July 2015.

Consumer Advocacy & Education

TRAI has instituted a procedure for registration of consumer bodies and organizations.
These organizations are expected to co-ordinate and articulate consumer responses to TRAI’s
activities, and also assist TRAI in consumer education.

It shall be responsibility of every consumer organization registered with the TRAI to work
for protection and propagation of the interest of the consumers. At present 52 Consumer
Advocacy Group (CAGs) have been registered with TRAI and the details of these organizations
are available on the website of TRAI. Regional Offices of TRAI are also interacting with these
agencies, coordinating their activities and helping them to sort out consumer related issues
with the Service Providers.

During the year 2015, TRAI organized 98 Consumer Outreach Programmes (CoPs) across
the country. This includes 17 programmes on Broadcasting & Cable Services( involving
interactions with MSOs & LCOs) and 3 on creating awareness and dispelling the apprehension
of possible health hazards from EMF Radiations from mobile towers. In addition to CoPs, 5
Regional Workshops for Capacity Building of Consumer Advocacy Groups and Consumer
Education were organized at Puducherry, Imphal, Udaipur, Vijayawada, and Ranchi. Through
these interactive programmes, the customers were informed about the various regulations/

12 Report on Activities
orders/directions issued by TRAI for protecting the interests of the consumers including the
customer grievance redressal mechanism. Many key issues that arose out of these interactions
with consumers in these outreach programmes have been addressed.

TRAI has released updated Consumer Handbook on Telecommunications in Hindi, English

and 10 regional languages which are being distributed amongst the consumers & also to
Registered Consumer Advocacy Groups for distribution in their respective areas. In addition
to this, TRAI has also released the following Handbooks/leaflets in various regional languages
for creating awareness among the consumers about the various issues related with Telecom &
Broadcasting sector:

(1) “Working for the Consumers”

(2) “FAQ on Broadcasting & Cable TV Services”

(3) “DOs & Don’Ts for Multi System Operators(MSO)

(4) “DOs & Don’Ts for Local Cable Operators(LCO)

(5) “DOs & Don’Ts for Local Cable Operators towards Subscribers.

(6) “EMF Radiation from Mobile Towers-A Fact Sheet”

TRAI has also released a series of advertisements on Digitalization of Cable TV Services,

Value Added Services & Mobile Number Portability in Hindi, English and 10 Regional languages
across the country for creating widespread awareness among the consumers.

Interconnection

1. The Telecommunication Interconnection Usage Charges (Eleventh Amendment)

Regulations, 2015 dated 23rd February 2015

TRAI issued an amendment to IUC Regulations presenting revised Domestic and

International Termination charges. Domestic termination charges are the charges payable
by a Telecom Service Provider (TSP) whose subscriber originates the call, to the TSP in
whose network the call terminates. In the prevailing Calling Party Pays (CPP) regime, the
calling party subscriber pays for the call to his TSP who, in turn, pays termination charges
to the called party’s TSP to cover the interconnection/network usage costs. International

Report on Activities 13
 Termination Charges (ITC) are the charges payable by an International Long Distance
Operator (ILDO), which is carrying calls from outside the country to a TSP in the country
in whose network the call terminates.

Key features of the Regulations are as follows:

(i) Mobile Termination Charge (MTC) for all calls originating and terminating in wireless
network has been reduced from 20 paise per minute to 14 paisa per minute;

(ii) To promote investment in and adoption of wireline network as an effective vehicle

for delivery of high speed internet in the country, the Authority has decided to
prescribe Fixed Termination Charges (FTC) as well as MTC for wireline to wireless
calls as zero. Accordingly,

(a) MTC for all calls originating from wireline has been set to zero;

(b) FTC for all calls originating either from wireline network or from wireless network
has been set to zero;

(iii) Termination charge for international incoming calls has been increased to 53 paisa
per minute from existing 40 paisa per minute;

The Regulations became effective from 1st March, 2015.

2. The Telecommunication Interconnection Usage Charges (Twelfth Amendment)

Regulations, 2015 dated 24th February 2015

TRAI issued amendment to IUC Regulations presenting Domestic Carriage charges.

An Access Service provider in India can offer access services within the Licensed Service
Area (LSA) only. Inter-LSA calls have to be routed through a National Long Distance
Operator (NLDO). The charges to be paid by an access provider to the NLDO to cover the
cost for carrying inter-LSA calls are called carriage charges. TRAI had prescribed the
carriage charges through the Interconnection Usage Charges (IUC) Regulations dated
23rd February, 2006 which stipulated a ceiling of Rs. 0.65 (65 Paise) per minute. These
charges were reviewed again in 2008/2009 but the same ceiling was retained.

14 Report on Activities
 Through these Regulations, the Authority has reduced the ceiling of the domestic carriage
charge to Rs. 0.35 (Paise 35) per minute from the existing Rs. 0.65 (65 Paise) per minute.

The Regulations became effective from 1st March, 2015.

3. Amendments to the Interconnection Regulations relating to commercial subscribers

dated 14th September 2015

TRAI notified two amendments to the Interconnection Regulations on 14th September

2015 relating to TV services for commercial subscribers, one applicable for TV services
being provided through analog cable TV systems (Non-CAS areas) and the other one
applicable for TV services being provided through Digital Addressable cable TV systems
(DAS).

Report on Activities 15
II. RECOMMENDATIONS

SPECTRUM, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION & RESPONSE SYSTEM,

PRIORITY ROUTING OF CALLS, DIRECT TO HOME, FM RADIO,
BROADBAND

Recommendations were made to the Government on diverse subjects including market

structure and entry of new operators in the sector, the licensing framework and management
of scarce resources such as spectrum, consumer safety and security, Integrated Emergency
Communication and Response System and Priority routing of calls of the persons engaged in
‘response and recovery’. Under this mandate, TRAI took action on the following matters during
the year:

Spectrum

1. TRAI’s response date 15th January 2015 to DoT reference for clarification/
reconsideration of ‘Recommendations on Valuation and Reserve Price of Spectrum:
2100 MHz Band’ dated 31st December 2014

The Authority sent its recommendations on ‘Valuation and Reserve Price of Spectrum:
2100 MHz Band’ on 31st December 2014 to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
On 8th January 2015, the DoT sought clarifications/reconsideration on many of the
recommendations.

After considering the comments given by the DoT, the Authority furnished its response to
the Government on 15 th January 2015. The Authority, has reiterated its earlier
recommendations with detailed reasoning. These recommendations, inter-alia, include –

(i) There is no change in the reserve prices for spectrum in the 2100 MHz bands from
what were recommended earlier.

(ii) The 15 MHz of spectrum in the 2100 MHz spectrum being vacated by Ministry of
Defence should be auctioned in view of the in-principle agreement reached with
MoD, even if it is not available immediately.

(iii) The Authority reiterated that in the upcoming auction of 2100 MHz band spectrum,
an auction-specific cap should be placed that no bidder would be permitted to bid
for more than 2 blocks in an LSA if 3-4 blocks are available in that LSA.

16 Report on Activities
 (iv) It is the responsibility of the DoT to ensure that the spectrum being auctioned is
either interference free or to share information upfront about the areas where
interference is likely to occur so that the TSPs participating in the auction can take
informed decision.

2. Clarifications / Reconsideration of Recommendations on ‘Working Guidelines for

Spectrum Trading’ and ‘Guidelines on Spectrum Sharing’

The Authority had sent its recommendations on ‘Working Guidelines for Spectrum Trading’
on 28th January 2014 and ‘Guidelines on Spectrum Sharing’ on 21st July 2014 to the
Department of Telecommunications (DoT). On 27 th April 2015, the DoT sought
clarifications/ reconsideration on some issues on both the recommendations.

After considering the comments given by the DoT, the Authority has furnished its response
to the Government on 21st May 2015.

3. TRAI’s response dated 17 th November 2015 to DoT’s reference back on

Recommendations on Allocation and Pricing of Microwave Access (MWA) and
Microwave Backbone (MWB) RF Carriers dated 29th August 2014

Based on the comments received from the stakeholders and further analysis and research,
the Authority sent its Recommendation on ‘Allocation and Pricing of Microwave Access
(MWA) and Microwave Backbone (MWB) RF carriers’ on 29th August, 2014 to DoT.

DoT vide its letter dated 16th October 2015 referred back some of the recommendations
to the Authority for clarifications / reconsideration.

The Authority, after carefully going through the back reference, has noted that the main
issue raised by DoT is regarding allocation methodology of MWA and MWB carriers on
administrative basis. Primarily, the DoT has asked the Authority to reconsider its
recommendations with regard to assignment of Microwave carriers on administrative
basis, stating that as administrative allotment follows the principle of ‘first come first
served’ and the same has been denounced by the Supreme Court in its judgement on the
2G case.

Report on Activities 17
 The Authority after due deliberations on the comments received from the DoT finalized
and forwarded its response to DoT on 17th November 2015.

Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR)

Recommendations dated 6th January 2015 on “Definition of Revenue Base (AGR) for the
Reckoning of License Fee and Spectrum Usage Charges”

TRAI issued Recommendations on “Definition of Revenue Base (AGR) for the Reckoning
of License Fee and Spectrum Usage Charges” on 6th January 2015.

The Authority took note of disputes / litigations between licensor and licensees on
definition of Gross Revenue (GR) and Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) under licence(s) granted
by DoT for different telecom services. Further, NTP 2012 portrayed the need to rationalize
taxes, duties and levies impacting the Indian telecom sector. The Authority therefore, has suo
motu decided to review the existing definition of Revenue, licence fee rate and other related
matters. Further, there was also a reference from DoT (no. 800-23/2011-VAS of 7th July,
2014) requesting TRAI to submit recommendations for delinking of licensing of networks from
delivery of services by way of virtual network operators, etc., including associated issues such
as AGR, terms of sharing of passive and active infrastructure, etc., under the unified licensing
regime.

The Authority issued a consultation paper on “Definition of Revenue Base (AGR) for the
Reckoning of License Fee and Spectrum Usage Charges on 31st July 2014. An Open House
Discussion was conducted on 1st October 2014 at New Delhi. After considering the comments
received from the stakeholders and further analysis, the Authority has come out with its
recommendations on the subject. A brief on salient features of the recommendations are given
below:

● LF and SUC should continue to be computed based on AGR.

● GR shall comprise revenue accruing to the licenced entity by way of all operations/
activities and inclusive of all other revenue/ income on account of interest, dividend,
rent, profit on sale of fixed assets, miscellaneous income etc. without any set-off for
related items of expense.

18 Report on Activities
 ● The concept of Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR) has been introduced. ApGR would
be equal to total Gross Revenue of the licensee as reduced by:

(i) Revenue from operations other than telecom activities/ operations as well as
revenue from activities under a licence/ permission issued by Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting;

(ii) Receipts from the USO Fund; and

(iii) Items of ‘other income’ as listed in the ‘positive list’ (Table 2.1 of
Recommendations).

● No change is recommended in the existing definition of pass through charges (i.e.

deductions) under different licences.

● Share of USO levy in LF should be reduced from the present 5% to 3% of AGR for all
licences with effect from 1st April 2015.

● ISPs having AGR less than Rs. 5 crore in a year shall pay licence fee of Rs. 10 lakh
or actual LF based on the applicable rate, whichever is less.

● Minimum presumptive AGR should not be made applicable to any licence(s) granted
by Government for providing telecom services.

● Any netting of amounts paid to other entities should not be permitted for the
computation of AGR.

● Intra-circle roaming charges should not be allowed as deduction from ApGR.

● Immediate steps should be taken by DoT to introduce a system of Licence Fee

Deducted at Source (LfDS) w.e.f. 1st April 2015 and develop an e-portal for submission
of LF and SUC by 1st April 2016.

● DoT should introduce a standardized process of verification with a unique code

assigned to each item of revenue and PTC.

Report on Activities 19
Emergency Communication and Response

Recommendations dated 7th April 2015 on implementation of “Single Number based

Integrated Emergency Communication & Response System”

To facilitate establishment of an efficient and robust Integrated Emergency Communication

& Response System (IECRS) in India, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has
suo-motu issued recommendations on implementation of ‘Single Number based Integrated
Emergency Communication & Response System (IECRS)’ on 7th April 2015.

The salient features of the recommendations are given below:

i) Number ‘112’ be adopted as the single emergency number for India.

ii) Calls made from a landline or mobile phone/device to the emergency number ‘112’
will be routed to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), which are akin to a call
centre.

iii) The existing emergency calling numbers 100,101,102 and 103 to be retained as
secondary numbers.

iv) Access to IECRS to be permitted even from those mobile/landline phones where the
outgoing call facility has been debarred or the service is suspended temporarily.

v) Calls to the single emergency number should be prioritized in the cellular mobile
networks.

vi) SMS based access to IECRS should also be provided.

vii) All Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) will have to provide location information and
details of caller to the IECRS. For this purpose four regional database centres, one
in each metro city, to be set up in the country. BSNL to setup and maintain these
regional database centres.

viii) There should be a multi-sectoral agency having representations from MHA,

Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Department of Electronics and Information
Technology (DEITY), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MHFW), Ministry of
Women and Child Development (MWCD) and other concerned Centre and State
agencies which can coordinate and help in setting up of IECRS in the country.

20 Report on Activities
 ix) A trial version of PSAP based IECRS should be put in place as a prototype before full
scale implementation.

The DoT vide its letter dated 25th August 2015 responded to the TRAI’s recommendations
seeking reconsideration/opinion/views of TRAI on some of the issues. Further, Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA) has recently released the guidelines for Nationwide Emergency Response
System (NERS). It has also invited Request for Proposals (RFP) for selection of IT Service Provider
(ITSP) for the project. Taking into consideration these developments, the Authority has
formulated its opinion / views.

In its response to the DoT on 30th September 2015, the Authority desired that NERS
framework may be implemented early. The Authority also re-iterated its recommendations for
deciding on a sunset date for incorporation of GPS feature in all mobile handsets for having
accurate location information of the caller.

Priority Routing of Calls

TRAI’s response dated 8th April 2015 on “Telecom Network Failures during Emergencies/
Disasters – Priority routing of calls of persons engaged in ‘response and recovery’”

During major disasters intense burst in telecom traffic congest networks resulting in
call-blockages and lost-messages. During such times mostly the loss of infrastructure results
in network congestion which can lead to failure of network elements.

The role of personnel involved in the rescue and relief operations is very critical during
emergencies. Therefore, a system needs to be devised to facilitate such a mechanism which
gives priority to these personnel on communication networks during emergencies.

In the aforesaid background, the Authority, suo motu, sent its recommendations on
“Telecom Network Failures during Emergencies / Disasters-Priority routing of calls of persons
engaged in ‘response and recovery’” dated 26th November 2013 to the DoT after due consultation
process. The Authority recommended that a priority call routing scheme should be instituted
to ensure that calls of personnel responsible for ‘response and recovery’ during disasters are
routed on priority.

Report on Activities 21
 The DoT vide its letter dated 10th November 2014 informed the Authority that a Committee
was constituted in the DoT to examine the recommendations of the Authority dated 26th
November 2013.

The DoT informed that the said Committee gave its report commenting on various issues
recommended by the Authority. The DoT also sought TRAI’s comments / views on the said
Committee report.

After considering the report of the Committee, the Authority sent is response to the DoT
on 8th April 2015.

Virtual Network Operators

Recommendations on ‘Introducing Virtual Network Operators in Telecom Sector’

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) through its reference dated 7th July 2014
had sought recommendations of TRAI on ‘Introducing Virtual Network Operators in Telecom
Sector’.

The Authority, issued its Recommendations on ‘Introducing Virtual Network Operators

in Telecom Sector’ on 1st May 2015.

Virtual Network Operators (VNOs) are service delivery operators, who do not own the
underlying core network(s) but rely on the network and support of the infrastructure providers
for providing telecom services to end users / customers. VNOs can provide any or all telecom
services which are being provided by the existing telecom service providers.

The salient features of the recommendations are:

● VNO be introduced through proper ‘licensing framework’ in the Indian Telecom

Sector.

● The VNOs be permitted for all segments of Voice, Data and Video as well as for all
services notified in the UL.

● VNO be introduced in the network based on the basis of mutually accepted terms
and conditions between NSO and the VNO. the terms and conditions of sharing the
infrastructure between NSO and VNO are left to the market to determine.

22 Report on Activities
 ● VNOs be permitted to set up their own network equipment(s) where there is no
requirement of interconnection with other NSO. However, they should not be allowed
to own/install equipment(s) where interconnection is required with another NSO.

● Local Cable Operators (LCOs) and Multi Service Operators (MSOs) can become VNO
and / or are permitted to share infrastructure with VNOs.

● For introduction of VNO in the sector, there should be a separate category of license
namely UL (VNO). Like UL authorization, only pan-India or service area-wise
authorizations may be granted under a UL (VNO) license.

● Duration for VNO licenses should be 10 years, extendable by 10 years at a time.

● There should not be a restriction on the number of VNO licensees per service area.
Also there should be no restriction on the number of VNOs parented by an NSO.

● Customer verification and number activation shall be the responsibility of a VNO

for its own customers.

Broadband

Recommendations dated 17th April 2015 on “Delivering Broadband Quickly: What do

we need to do?”

Broadband penetration and adoption in the country is unsatisfactory. In the backdrop of

this the Authority carried out a suo-motu consultation process on the issue of “Delivering
Broadband Quickly: What do we need to do?” On 17 th April 2015, TRAI issued its
Recommendations on “Delivering Broadband Quickly: What do we need to do?”

The Broadband ecosystem consists of various sub-parts and therefore the

recommendations pertain to the following:

a) Spectrum (Availability, Roadmap, Institutional Revamping, Transparency, Pricing,

Spectrum Trading/Sharing and Unlicensed Band)

b) Right of Way (Single window clearance, National RoW Policy, charges etc.)

c) NOFN (Institutional change, project implementation, sizing of Optical Fibre, Turnkey

contracts).

Report on Activities 23
 d) Towers (Single window, time bound clearance etc.)

e) Fixed Line Broadband

f) Cable TV

g) Satellite

h) Hosting of content in India

i) Infrastructure sharing

Direct to Home

Recommendations / Clarifications dated 22nd January 2015 on the issue of use of DTH
by Central and State Governments and guidelines thereon

Recommendations / Clarifications on the issue of Use of DTH by Central and State

Governments and guidelines thereon were sent to the Government on 22nd January 2015.
Salient features of the recommendations are:

i. Non-commercial use of DTH, by the Central and State Governments, for educational
purposes should be done through the Prasar Bharati route, through suitable
agreements between Prasar Bharati and the concerned Central/ State Governments.

ii. Prasar Bharati shall ensure that content dissemination through such non-commercial
educational channels comply with the code and conduct of broadcasting established
in India such as Programme code, AIR code etc. and the content disseminated through
such channels should be such that it can form part of any regular Prasar Bharati
channel.

iii. As the transponder capacity is a scarce resource as on date, the allocation of

transponder capacity to Central/State Governments for running DTH educational
channels on a non-commercial basis should be done in a very careful and judicious
manner. It should not lead to a situation where transponder capacity is kept idling
on one hand when, on the other hand, Service Providers are kept waiting for the
same, thereby adversely impacting the expansion and improvement of quality of
their services.

24 Report on Activities
 iv. The Authority reiterated its earlier recommendations regarding strengthening the
maintenance of an arm’s length relationship between Prasar Bharati and the
Government and ensuring functional independence and autonomy of Prasar Bharati.

FM Radio

Recommendations dated 24th March 2015 on “Reserve Prices for auction of FM Radio
channels in new cities”

The Recommendations on “Reserve Prices for auction of FM Radio channels in new cities”
were forwarded to the Government on 24 th March 2015. The salient features of the
recommendations are:

(i) The valuation of FM radio channels in 253 new cities has been worked out as a
simple mean of the three valuation approaches. The approaches are based on the
following variables:

➢ Population of the city

➢ Per capita Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP)

➢ Listenership of FM Radio

➢ Per capita Gross Revenue earned by the existing FM Radio operators.

(ii) The reserve price of FM radio channels for each of the 253 new cities has been fixed
at 80% of the valuation for each city.

(iii) The recommended reserve prices for FM radio channels for each of the 253 new
cities are given in the recommendations.

(iv) For 11 cities of ‘Others category, having a population less then 1 lakh in the border
areas of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and the North East (NE) region, the reserve price
is kept at Rs. 5 Lakh for each FM channel in all these cities, as approved by the
Cabinet in the Phase-III policy.

Report on Activities 25
III. OTHER ISSUES

Consultations

1. Consultation Paper dated 6th February 2015 on “Reserve Price for auction of FM
Radio channels in New Cities”

The Consultation Paper titled “Reserve Price for auction of FM Radio channels in New
Cities” was issued on 6th February 2015 seeking comments of the stakeholders on the
issues related to estimation of the reserve prices for auction of FM Radio channels in 264
cities.

2. Consultation Paper dated 27th February 2015 on “Draft Tariff Order prescribing
framework for commercial interoperability of Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)
in DTH services”

The Draft Tariff Order which prescribes a framework for commercial interoperability of
Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) offered by the Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators to
their subscribers, was issued on 27th February 2015 seeking comments / views of the
stakeholders. Commercial interoperability provides for a viable exit option to the
subscribers in case they want to switch operator/platform. The draft Tariff Order intends
to strike a balance between the interests of the consumers and that of the service providers,
as well as to curb piling up of e-waste on account of CPEs. The draft tariff order covers
the following aspects:

➢ declaration of the price of all type of CPEs, installation & activation charges and
applicable taxes on CPEs by the DTH operators.

➢ mandatory offering of standard scheme for all type of CPEs on a standalone basis by
DTH operators, specifying separately the price of CPE, taxes, other charges etc;

➢ flexibility to DTH operators to offer other schemes;

➢ flexibility to DTH operators to offer brand new as well as refurbished CPEs;

➢ provision of buy-back/refund option in all the offered schemes, including bundled

schemes for CPEs;

➢ mechanism for buy-back/refund in the standard and other schemes for CPEs;

26 Report on Activities
 ➢ provision of lock-in period for the purpose of refund in the offered schemes for CPEs
if the subscriber wants to switch from one operator to the other;

➢ applicability of buy-back/refund option for all types of offered CPEs;

➢ option for the DTH operators to redeploy the surrendered CPEs;

➢ mechanism for registration of request for surrender of connection;

➢ time-limit to settle refund/buy-back claims of the subscribers.

3. Consultation paper dated 14th July 2015 on “Tariff issues related to Commercial
Subscribers”

Consultation paper on ‘Tariff issues related to Commercial Subscribers’ was issued on

14th July 2015 seeking comments / views of the stakeholders on the following issues:-

(a) Examine the need to classify subscribers of TV services into ordinary and commercial
categories.

(b) In case, subscribers are required to be classified into such categories, then:

(i) Examine various criteria for classification of subscribers of TV services.

(ii) Examine the need for differential tariffs amongst different subscriber categories.

(iii) Examine as who should prescribe the tariffs for different subscriber categories.

(iv) Examine adequacy of the present framework to ensure transparency and

accountability across the value chain for commercial subscribers to ensure
transparency and accountability in the entire value chain to effectively minimise
disputes and conflicts among stakeholders.

4. Consultation Paper dated 30th September 2015 on “Draft Telecommunication

(Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Fourth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff
(Amendment) Order, 2015”

As part of the consultative process, the draft Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable)
Services (Fourth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff (Amendment) Order, 2015 proposing
simplified “Twin Conditions”, was uploaded on the TRAI website on 30th September 2015.

Report on Activities 27
 Stakeholders have been requested to offer their comments/views latest by 14th October,
2015. Counter-comments, if any, may be submitted by 21st October, 2015.

5. Consultation Paper dated 26th November 2015 on “Valuation and Reserve Price for
auction of right to use of Spectrum in 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and
2100 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz bands”

On 9th July, 2015, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) communicated that the
Government is planning for auction of right to use of spectrum in 700 MHz, 800 MHz,
900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz in the forthcoming auction.
DoT requested the Authority to provide recommendations on applicable reserve price for
auction of spectrum in 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands for
all service areas under the terms of clause 11(1)(a) of TRAI Act 1997 as amended. DoT
also referred to its earlier reference dated 16th October, 2014 and requested the Authority
to expedite the recommendations on applicable reserve price for 2300 MHz and 2500
MHz bands for all the service areas. Further, DoT vide its letter dated 6th November 2015,
has sought the recommendations of the Authority on the liberalization of administratively
allotted spectrum in the 900 MHz band.

In this regard, a Consultation Paper has been issued on 26th November 2015. In this
consultation paper specific issues have been raised for consideration of stakeholders.
The key issues raised are quantum of spectrum to be auctioned, spectrum block-size,
Spectrum Cap, Roll-out obligations and methods to be used for valuation and estimation
of reserve price of spectrum.

Workshops

1. Interactive Workshops on Tariff and reporting requirements with telecom service

providers held in the month of August-September, 2015

With a view to create awareness about the regulatory guidelines on tariff and reporting
requirements thereof, separate workshops were held with each telecom service provider.
Representatives of service providers from their various departments including Regulatory,
Marketing, Sales, Finance, Revenue Assurance, Pricing, Billing, IT, Revenue Operations
and Website Management, participated in the workshops. Apart from Presentation made
by TRAI and by the service providers, detailed discussion on tariff related issues and live

28 Report on Activities
 demonstration of TSPs’ websites were conducted with a view to enhance transparency in
display of tariff information. Thirteen workshops were held on the following dates.

1. Bharti Airtel Limited 17.08.2015

2. Vodafone 19.08.2015
3. Reliance 21.08.2015
4. Idea 24.08.2015
5. BSNL 28.08.2015
6. Aircel 31.08.2015
7. MTNL 01.09.2015
8. Sistema Shyam (MTS) 02.09.2015
9. Uninor 03.09.2015
10. Tata 04.09.2015
11. Tata Communications/Tikona Digital Ltd. 08.09.2015
12. Videocon and QTL 10.09.2015
13. Sify 16.09.2015

Other Activities

1) Publication of Technology Digest

New technology is constantly being developed and finds its applications in the technical
systems that make up a telecommunications networks. However, keeping pace with
advances in telecom technology becomes difficult for most telecom professionals. To identify
and share new technology trends with industry, TRAI is publishing a technology bulletin
called ‘Technology Digest’ which focuses on one technology aspect in every issue. During
2015 Technology Digest on

(i) DOCSIS

(ii) ‘Internet of Things

2) Green Telecommunications:

TRAI is monitoring the implementation of DOT Direction on Green Technologies in Telecom

Sector. In this regard, Carbon Footprint Reports of the NLDs/ILDs/ISPs and Access SPs
including BSNL and MTNL upto 2014-15 has been received in TRAI.

Report on Activities 29
3) MIS Project

The MIS Project was launched on pilot basis on 1st January 2014. MIS Project was
conceptualized in TRAI securely receiving various reports from the Service Providers in
electronic form. The project also helps in generation of various regular reports automatically
in the required form. Generation of various dashboards which can provide summary
information is included in the project. The project thus helps all the stakeholders in
improving efficiency and accuracy. The specialized reports also can be generated as per
the need from the data received from the stakeholders. Various issues which came during
the pilot phase is being addressed.

4) Audit and Survey

TRAI has engaged independent agencies for auditing and assessing the performance of
service providers on quality of service and also for assessing customer perception of
service through survey.

TRAI also publishes information about the quality of service performance by service
providers, the results of Audit and assessment of Quality of Service under taken by
Independent Agencies and the results of survey under taken by independent agencies
about customer perception of service through its website for the information of
stakeholders. The publishing of quality of service related information has also been forcing
the service providers to improve the quality of service performance and also to address
deficiencies in meeting the benchmarks.

The audit work had been awarded to M/s IMRB, M/s TUV & SUD and M/s CS Datamation.
The audit reports are uploaded on the website. The audit work for the period January to
March and April to June 2015 was carried out and the same is uploaded on the website.
Further, the audit work for the period July to September 2015 was carried out and the
presentation of Audit Agencies have been completed.

After fresh tender, the Audit work has been awarded on zonal basis to M/s C S Datamation
for South Zone, M/s IMRB for West & East Zone and M/s PhiStream Consulting Private
Limited for North Zone on 9th September 2015 for carrying out the work of Audit &
Assessment of Quality of Service w.e.f. 1st 1st October 2015.

The survey work had been awarded on zonal basis to M/s IMRB for East Zone, M/s
VOICE for North Zone M/s Mott Mac Donald for West Zone and M/s Spectrum Planning

30 Report on Activities
 Ltd for South Zone. The survey work for the period December 2014 to May 2015 has been
carried out & final Survey Reports of the Report were published on 7th September 2015.

5) TRAI-ITU Symposium on ‘ICT challenges for Smart Cities in India’

held on 27th March 2015 at New Delhi

The Government of India has initiated the process for setting up of a hundred smart
cities across the length and breadth of our country.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) being a critical and integrated

component, has been at the core of “Smart and Sustainable” city models. The concerns
of ICT stakeholders involved in setting up the policy and regulatory frameworks for
implementation of Smart Sustainable Cities (SSCs) need to be addressed. It also requires
developing requisite skills for leveraging ICT for efficient implementation of SSCs and
defining the role to be played by each stakeholder. Therefore, the engagement of various
stakeholders was felt necessary to understand the issues and build a forward looking
approach.

After a training program on the issue conducted during 24-26 March, 2015, TRAI-ITU
jointly organized a one day symposium on “ICT regulatory challenges in Indian smart
cities” on 27th March 2015. The agenda of the symposium focuses on initiatives taken on
Indian smart cities and discussed the issues / challenges being faced by the stakeholders.
The symposium was focused on ICT regulatory issues in the proposed smart cities in
India.

6) TRAI’s response dated 2nd July 2015 to DoT on issues relating to

Spectrum Cap and minimum spectrum holding by Telecom Service
Providers (TSPs) as follow up of Hon’ble Supreme Court’s interim
order dated 14th May 2015

As a follow up of Hon’ble Supreme Court’s interim order dated 14th May 2015 in the
Transfer Case (Civil) Nos. 43/2015 (WP No. 1635/2015 filed by M/s Reliance in Delhi
High Court, 64/2015 (WP No. 53/2015 filed by M/s Reliance in Tripura High Court) and
65/2015 (WP No. 6176/2015) the DoT, through a letter dated 29th May 2015 requested
TRAI to provide its comments on the specific issues related to Spectrum Cap.

Report on Activities 31
 The Authority in its response has, inter-alia, stated that:

➢ At present there is no need to modify the existing spectrum cap (50% of the spectrum
assigned in each of the 800 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2300 / 2500 MHz and 25% of the
total spectrum assigned in all these bands put together in each service area).

➢ On the methodology of calculating the spectrum cap, the Authority opined that all
spectrum assigned to the TSPs including any spectrum which was put to an auction
but remains unsold, spectrum which was assigned but subsequently surrendered
by the TSP or taken back by the Licensor and spectrum put to auction should be
counted. However, any spectrum out of the above will not be taken into calculation,
if the Government assigns it for non-commercial purpose e.g. assignment to Defence.

➢ The spectrum which may become available to the WPC/DoT for commercial use
after its refarming from other users such as Defence at different point of time should
not be counted for determining the spectrum caps until it is put to auction by the
DoT.

➢ Government should not take back spectrum assigned to TSP even if it is less than 5
MHz in any band.

Directions

i) Direction Dated 5th February 2015 to service providers to comply with the
instructions issued by the Department of Telecommunications on Short Codes and
use of special characters

The Authority, vide its letter dated 04th July 2014, directed the service providers to furnish
information on short codes in the prescribed format. In the reports received from the
service providers, it has been noted that service providers have violated the instructions
of the licensor on short codes and the provisions of the National Numbering Plan.

Further, TRAI, vide its Direction dated 5th February 2015 directed all the Unified Licence
(Access Service), Unified Access Service Providers, Cellular Mobile Telephone Service
providers on the use of short codes and special characters to:

(a) comply with the instructions issued by the licensor vide its letter No. 16-7/2006-
BS.II dated the 23rd May, 2006, Office Memorandum No. 16-3/2003-BS.II/Vol.VI
dated the 30th November, 2006, Office Memorandum No. 16-3/2003-BS.II/Vol.VI

32 Report on Activities
 dated the 1st December, 2006 and letter No. 16-3.2003-BS.II/Vol.VI/441 dated 7th
May, 2007;

(b) comply with the provisions of sub-regulation (1) of regulation 10 of the Telecom
Consumers Protection Regulations, 2012(2 of 2012);

(c) publish on the main page of their website under the title ‘Short codes and special
characters’, in the prescribed format, the details of services offered to the consumers
and tariffs for such services and update immediately, information on any change
therein; and

(d) furnish to the Authority on quarterly basis, within ten days of the end of the quarter,
commencing from the quarter ending March, 2015, information in the prescribed
format.

ii) Direction dated 2nd March 2015 to M/s Vodafone India Ltd. to discontinue use of
level ‘111’

Department of Telecommunications had issued the National Numbering Plan, 2003

wherein the number/prefix 111 to 115 have not been allocated for any type of services
and have been kept as ‘SPARE’.

The Authority observed from the advertisements on the website of M/s Vodafone India
Ltd. that customers were being urged to call ’111’ to get internet settings on their handset
for pre-paid data offers, postpaid 3G data packs, self help for data services, Blackberry
internet offers and to find out the balance.

The Authority issued a Show Cause Notice dated 2nd February, 2015 to M/s Vodafone
India Ltd. for violation of the National Numbering Plan, 2003.

The Authority examined the reply dated 18th February 2015 received from M/s Vodafone
India Ltd in response to the aforesaid Show Cause Notice and was of the view that by
using level ‘111’ without the permission of the Department of Telecommunications, M/s
Vodafone India Ltd. has contravened the provisions of National Numbering Plan. The
Authority therefore vide its Direction dated 2nd March 2015 directed M/s Vodafone India
Ltd. to discontinue use of level ‘111’ and submit a compliance report.

Report on Activities 33
iii) Amendment dated 27 th March 2015 to Direction dated 2nd March, 2015 to
M/s Vodafone India Ltd. to discontinue the use of level ‘111’

M/s Vodafone India Ltd., in its response dated 5th March, 2015, to Authority’s direction
dated 2nd March 2015 mentioned that it was listing the activities for the migration of their
customer helpline from the existing level ‘111’ to another level. Further, it expressed its
intention to comply with the Direction dated 2nd March, 2015, however, from both the
technical and customer experience aspects to complete all the necessary activities and
ensure minimum customer inconvenience, it requested for grant of suitable time for
migration and parallel working of both the old and the new code.

The Authority considered the request of M/s Vodafone India Ltd. and directed M/s
Vodafone India Ltd. to submit the compliance report of the aforesaid Direction latest by
the 30th April, 2015.

iv) Direction dated 5th January 2015 to Access Providers (Basic Telephone Service
Providers, Cellular Mobile Telephone Service Providers & Unified Access Service
Providers) and National Long Distance Operators regarding waiving off termination
charges

Department of Telecommunications had forwarded a copy of the representation dated

17thSeptember 2014 of M/s Aircel for waiving off the IUC termination charges, which an
originating J&K operator had to pay to a terminating operator (of Pan-India service areas)
for 2 days i.e. 10th September 2014 to 11th September 2014. The service provider mentioned
that in the unprecedented emergent flood situation in J&K state during September 2014,
M/s Aircel, as the major operator, provided 100% free local and national voice calling to
all J&K customers for entire 2 days.

TRAI sought comments from Access Providers on this issue and after deliberations, agreed
with the request for waiving off the termination charges. Accordingly a Direction was
issued by the Authority on 5th January 2015 to all Access Service Providers and NLDOs,
to waive off termination charges in respect of all calls made by their subscribers in the
state of Jammu & Kashmir on 10th and 11th September, 2014.

v) Direction dated 16th April 2015 to all Access Service Providers

Disputes regarding ownership of the mobile numbers, after its porting from one service
provider to another service provider, came to the notice of the Authority.

34 Report on Activities
 In order to strengthen the process of verification of the ownership of the mobile number
under porting, the Authority invited the comments of the stakeholders on obtaining an
undertaking of ownership of the mobile number from the subscriber at the time of porting.
The Authority examined the comments received from the stakeholders and decided to
mandate obtaining of an undertaking of ownership of the mobile number from the
subscriber while submitting request for porting.

Accordingly, the Authority directed all Access Service Providers to incorporate in their
porting request form an undertaking to be obtained from the subscriber seeking porting
of his mobile number declaring that he is the owner of the said mobile number and in
case the undertaking is found to be false, the said mobile number shall be disconnected.

vi) Second Amendment dated 7th May 2015 to Direction No. 413-2/2014-NSL-I dated
the 2nd March,2015 to M/s Vodafone India Ltd. to discontinue the use of level ‘111’

M/s Vodafone in its request dated 20th April, 2015 submitted a list of activities being
undertaken by them for educating the customers about the new level 199 for the Help-
line services and in view of the fact that the tapering of calls to level ‘111’ would happen
only gradually, it had requested for permission to operate parallel working of their Help-
line service at the existing level ‘111’ for a period of ninety days i.e. upto 31st July, 2015.

The Authority, after consideration, agreeing with the request, granted extension of time
for submission of compliance and further directed to furnish the compliance report of the
Direction dated the 2nd May, 2015 latest by 31st July, 2015 and take suitable action to
inform the consumers regarding change in the Help-line number so that no inconvenience
is caused to them.

7) Miscellaneous issues related to Telecom sector

(i) TCCMS Portal: TRAI has launched the portal www.tccms.gov.in to facilitate Telecom
Consumers in lodging their complaints with their service providers online and to
monitor the status of redressal of their complaints. The portal has is being monitored.

(ii) NCCP Portal: TRAI has launched the portal www.nccptrai.gov.in to monitor the
implementation of TCCCPR Regulations in 2010. The portal is being used for
monitoring the UCC Complaints.

Report on Activities 35
 (iii) The implementation of the VAS Direction has drastically reduced the VAS
complaints.(to 0.15% of the total VAS activations)

(iv) An amount of Rs. 2.48 Crores has been received till date towards Penalty on
Telemarketers

(v) Empanelment of Auditors for 2015-16 was completed.

(vi) Because of the regulations issued under TCCCPR, the UCC has drastically come
down which was averaging around 7,000 per week to 2,000 per week.

8) Miscellaneous issues related to Broadcasting & Cable TV Sector

(i) Frequently Asked Questions’ on Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems

Frequently Asked Questions’ on Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems has been

updated and uploaded on TRAI website on 07th April 2014 (English version) & on
16th April 2015 (Hindi version) respectively.

(ii) DOs & DON’Ts for Multi System Operators (MSOs) & Local Cable Operators
(LCOs)

DOs & DON’Ts for Multi System Operators (MSOs) & Local Cable Operators (LCOs)
in respect of Customers/Subscribers of Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems (DAS)
has been uploaded on TRAI’s website in English and Hindi languages.

(iii) Report on Average duration, per hour, of Advertisements in TV Channels

Report on Average duration, per hour, of Advertisements (both Commercial & Self
promotional) in TV Channels during peak hours (7PM – 10PM) for the period
intervening 23rd February 2015 to 1st March 2015, based on data, submitted by the
broadcasters, was uploaded on the TRAI’s website on11th May 2015.

(iv) Handbook titles “FAQs on Broadcasting and Cable TV services”

The FAQs was uploaded on TRAI’s website on 14th July 2015. The Handbook provides
the consumer with a gist of relevant regulations & orders pertaining to Broadcasting
& Cable TV Services. Salient aspects that are covered in this handbook include
procedure for connections, disconnection, transfer, shifting, complaint redressal
and billing aspect.

36 Report on Activities
 (v) Compliance of regulatory provisions prescribed in Standards of Quality of
Service (Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems) Regulations, 2012 and
consumers Complaint Redressal (Digital Addressable cable TV systems)
Regulations 2012

In this regard, a letter dated 31st July 2015 has been issued to 15 major MSOs to
ensure compliance of the mentioned regulations by taking corrective actions at
their end for the shortcomings pointed out in the letters & to intimate the action
taken to the Authority.

(vi) Compliance with regulatory provisions prescribed in all the regulations /

orders/ directions issued by TRAI pertaining to implementation of DAS

TRAI issued a letter dated 20th August 2015 to 179 Multi System Operators (MSOs)
who have been granted registration by MIB after implementation of Phase-I & Phase-
II of DAS to :-

(a) read all the regulations /orders/ directions issued by TRAI pertaining to
implementation of DAS and ensure to comply with the clause (ii) of the
registration and to submit a Self Declaration in the prescribed format in this
regard.

(b) provide to TRAI within a period of 30 days, the details of their website including
URL and Toll Free Number of the complaint Centre.

(c) provide a copy of Manual of Practice (MOP) and Citizen Charter.

(vii) TRAI uploaded the following data on its website on 31st August 2015

(a) Data relating to Average duration per hour of advertisement for pay non-news
channels for the period 30th March to 29th June 2015.

(b) Data relating to average duration per hour of advertisement for pay News
Channels for the period 30th March to 29th June 2015.

(viii) Open House Discussion conducted on “Tariff Issues related to Commercial

subscribers”

An open house discussion (OHD) was held on 18th August 2015 on “Tariff Issues
related to Commercial subscribers” at New Delhi.

Report on Activities 37
 (ix) Self Audit & verification of subscriber’s data entered into the Subscriber
Management System by the MSOs operating in Phase-I and Phase-II of DAS
areas

A letter dated 28th September 2015 was issued to 114 MSOs who are operating in
Phase-I and Phase-II of DAS areas, to carry out a self audit & verify the data available
in their Subscriber Management System (SMS) with each subscriber and make
available a certificate in the prescribed format to TRAI within 30 days.

(x) Interaction of TRAI with MSOs and LCOs at Shimla

To increase the awareness about the regulatory framework notified by TRAI and
implementation of DAS in Phase-III areas, TRAI held interactions with MSOs and
LCOs at Shimla on 11th September 2015. The interaction was attended by large
number of participants.

38 Report on Activities
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
Akanksha Impressions 98110 82194

Mahanagar Doorsanchar Bhawan, Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg,

(Old Minto Road), New Delhi - 110 002
Telephone : +91-11-2323 6308
Fax : +91-11-2321 3294
E-mail : [email protected]
Website : http://www.trai.gov.in