TRAI calls for simplified mobile connection guidelines
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has told the Supreme Court that the recent guidelines drafted by the Indian government with regards to the subscription of a new telephone number need to be simplified as they will put unnecessary burden on operators as well as subscribers. The regulatory said if the guidelines were implemented, activation of a new number may take 6-7 days of time from the date of purchase of the connection by a subscriber.
The government recently formulated new guidelines, which stress on strict adherence to the Customer Acquisition Form (CAF) for verification of subscribers for security purposes. The new guidelines were drafted in view of increasing use of mobile phones for terror strikes in the country. Counsel appearing for the TRAI, however, contended that some of the norms including the CAF need to be simplified, without compromising the need of the security agencies.
The regulatory body also said that it will be really difficult for operators to verify the credentials of all mobile users, as there are no unique identification database for the entire country and that the operators will need a much larger workforce.
The TRAI also opposed the idea of re-verification of the subscriber when changing a tariff plan. The body said that change of connection from prepaid to postpaid and vice versa is basically a tariff plan change, and therefore there is no point of conducting re-verification. The regulatory pointed out that the mandatory verification before activation of could dent the expansion of teledensity in the country, especially in the rural areas.
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