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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has urged the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) to impose a penalty for failing to stop spam calls and messages. It has been suggested to seize the bank guarantee of telecom companies to recover this penalty. Let us tell you that TRAI has the right to cancel the license of any telecom company for not following the rules. However, instead of canceling the license, the emphasis is being laid on collecting the penalty.
What impact will this have on mobile users?
No response has been given by the telecom companies in this matter. However, it is also true that the penalty amount is recovered from the final consumer mobile users. Recently Jio, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea have made mobile recharge plans expensive to increase the Average Revenue per User i.e. ARPU.
Effect after levy of penalty
However, if the government forcibly levies a fine from telecom companies, then the telecom companies will recover the fine by increasing the price of mobile recharge plans. However, this fine will not be imposed directly on mobile users, but the truth of history till date is that whenever telecom companies incur losses, or they have to invest in 5G or any new technology, the price of mobile recharge is increased by the telecom companies.
The government refused to intervene in the matter
When telecom companies increase mobile recharge plans without giving any specific reason, the government clearly refuses to interfere in the matter. Jio and Airtel increased tariff plans on July 3, while Vodafone-Idea increased their recharge plans a day later on July 4. When the matter reached the government through social media, the government clearly refused to interfere in the matter.
How much fine on whom
According to the report, a fine of about Rs 115 crore can be recovered from the bank guarantee of telecom companies. Let us tell you that in the last 8 to 10 years, a fine of Rs 50 crore has been imposed on BSNL and MTNL jointly for spam calls. A fine of Rs 20 crore is pending on Bharti Airtel. Similarly, a fine of Rs 15 crore is pending on Vodafone Idea, while a fine of Rs 12 crore is pending on Reliance Jio.
No payment even after reminder
According to a report, private telecom companies have not paid the fine for 10 months to three years. Also, whenever Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea, BSNL and MTNL were questioned in this matter, no answer was received from them. TRAI has been giving reminders to telecom companies in this matter for many years. But despite this, no dues have been paid by the telecom companies. In such a situation, TRAI has suggested DoT to recover the dues from bank guarantee money.
What is the logic of telecom operators
According to the report, a senior official associated with this matter said that telecom companies have appealed to TRAI not to impose fine on telecom companies for spam calls and messages, because they do not promote spam calls and messages. Also, fake messages and calls have not been generated by them. The original source of fake messages and calls are not telecom companies. Telecom companies themselves are working with the government in this matter to stop spam calls and messages. In such a situation, the responsibility should be put on telemarketers or other corporate entities.
What does TRAI say?
TRAI argues that telecom companies are bound to take all measures to stop unwanted calls and spam. In such a situation, if telecom companies are not successful in this task, then they should be legally fined. TRAI has issued several instructions to telecom companies to curb spam and phishing. But telecom companies have not implemented all the instructions.
TRAI has recently extended the deadline for blocking unregistered mobile numbers to October 1, 2024.