MUMBAI: In order to address customer concerns regarding the new tariff regime that came into effect from 1 February, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has taken considerable steps to educate and inform people.

Noting that several service providers have not been active in getting people migrated, it has, according to a report by Telecom Talk, said that customers who are grappling with faulty connections can lodge a complaint at a designated call centre.

The authority even stated that if there is no word from the operator even after making a claim, subscribers won’t have to pay after 72 hours. After witnessing the issues being faced by customers, TRAI extended the date for choosing packs till 31 March and even asked operators to ensure that those who have prepaid for their connections should not suffer any cable loss. The least that can be done is to temporarily move people to packs which are close enough to their previous choice.

TRAI has also taken similar steps to address the concern of exorbitant rates being charged by DTH and cable operators for service charges. It has capped cable charges to Rs 200-300 and DTH at Rs 500.

A few days ago, TRAI said that about 6.5 crore cable and 2.5 crore DTH homes have been migrated to the new regime. This means 9 crore out of the total 17 crore TV homes in the country have successfully adopted new plans. It had said that it will take up massive consumer awareness programmes through print, social media, ads and other programmes to ensure the message reaches out to consumers.

It even told operators that in cases of a second TV connection in the same home, they have the option to forgo or provide a discount on the base charge of Rs 130.