Google is the top referrer here to this blog. People land up here looking for (sic):

calcutta telephones broadband change of
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who are using tatabroadband in hyderabad

This one obviously takes the cake:

an ideal customer care executive

And this one too:

mgcarley is not an indian

Hodi Baba!!! Indians! WTF!

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I am terribly disappointed by their response. Hypothetical? My foot. I had asked pointed questions and everything here is in public domain. Even the response received from them which I got scanned and put it up here. To say that TRAI is full of assholes, is truly an understatement.

I was not even called for the appeal which is unfair. This case was decided “ex parte” which is not called for. Indeed, it is my privilege to attend the hearing; it is my call (as per the law) whether or not I need to go their dung infested shit holes.

I am not even surprised that they have not even bothered to go in the nature of the appeal but rather dismiss it as “fucking hypothetical”. What was the b**** even thinking about? Is it possible to quell the public opinion just because these motherfuckers are bedfellows with the vested corporate interests? What the FUCK is the Government of India doing as we all get raped for the public convenience that truly belongs to us?

I am sorry to say but we have juvenile delinquents hired as “regulators” who are not even fit to stand tall on their two feet but then it’s too much to ask for these creepy crawly lowly beings. They ought not forget that EVERYTHING about them is out in the public domain; although it is not a “personal fight” but based on their responses, I might even be compelled to ask them for their qualification, the reason they have been appointed for this job and their merits.

The second appeal, of course, is now the CIC, New Delhi and thats where I am headed. In order to maintain the transparency, each of the exchange of the email, the response received and the action taken would all be in pubic domain, that is, here on this blog.

May I also hasten to add that the frequency of posts has dwindled down in recent times because I am very busy with the academic pursuits and it is difficult to move ahead full steam with the present case as well as do justice to this blog. Nevertheless, I am expecting some response from CIC and since the courthouses are open for all, in the event that this case lands up there, I invite you all to present your side of the story.

I shall keep you informed via this blog or through the forums. Stay in touch and I am even more determined to take the fight to the finish.

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To me, it appears like a simple game. The “base” access is 256 kbps; anything over and above that is a “value added service”. I have no clue as to how the whole thing is priced but logic dictates that it is incremental profit for the telecom companies. The costs are fixed for “digging” up the roads, fixing up the telephone connections and if they are able to give an “error” free connection, people are loath to change their service providers in a jiffy. In any case, landlines are more reliable than a mobile connection because they are not prone for “congestion” or call drops as the case with the airwaves is.

TRAI has not addressed the customer claims so far. I remember the time when I had to struggle upfront against BSNL to start with “unlimited” connection. It was a long fight and after emailing them incessantly, I managed to get “true freedom”.

Right to Information Act has changed the game plan by giving the customer real power in terms of information. I have earlier mentioned that it is one of the most progressive legislation in the history ii independent India because the grass roots policy can be questioned to bring about a change. The appellate authority has 45 days to respond to the appeal failing which I would be escalating the matter to CIC, New Delhi and press for charges against the respective Information Officers.

I would have been happy had this case got the media scrutiny and then bring TRAI on the mat and screw them LITERALLY. For long, we have suffered enough lobbies because it doesn’t suit them. Trust me, we have enough bandwidth to support millions of ‘unlimited connections’ but are at the mercy of the likes of ISP’s like Sify and Airtel. Those associations have money, legal power and reach in the media. We as individual customers, don’t.

I find the idea to “petition” totally useless. If anything has to happen in democracy, one has to reach out to do something. Clicking on the petition is a SURE SHOT sign that you are a f***ing impotent asshole. This “clickitivism” does nothing because these petitions are as good as useless. If you are so overtly concerned about your rights, it’s a better option to hurl some stones outside their corporate offices after ganging up. Or protest outside naked with a group of people. That would generate more news rather than sitting on your sorry ass for want of doing ‘something’.

I appreciate all of your concerns and do stay glued here for any news. I shall update it as soon as I get any information.

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Having the useless information from the Public Information Officer, I explored ways and means to get the FULL information from TRAI.

It appears that there is a huge lobby to keep the definition of broadband as 256 kbps which can be “offered” at an attractive “price”. Anything over and above that is chargeable at a higher price. The companies incur a fixed price to extend the wire from the exchange to your premises. However, after that, we have no clue as to how a company, for example, Airtel justifies it’s monthly costs to service me as a customer. In the recent price fall, on what basis, the price was reduced? On what basis, the earlier price point was maintained?

The PIO has not specifically mentioned about the fair usage policy. Under no circumstances, does this fair usage policy apply, nor it is mandated, nor it is ‘legal’. I have no clue about whether TRAI is aware of such a thing but in any case, it needs a follow up and TRAI should be forced to stop the unfortunate usage.

In the long term, the license of these firms needs to be made public; how these private companies acquire them, how they charge and what are their revenue sources. Their accounts need to be audited and everything should be in the public domain.

I am only interested in a bare bones 2 Mbps connection and any other value added service maybe charged for. That is a legitimate right to make a profit. However, charging exorbitant rates for something as simple as a plain vanilla broadband access is unfair and the customer needs to be put in the loop.

I am reproducing the mail to the appellate authority in full. The best part is that I don’t have to pay the requisite fees and I am sure that the PIO would be put under the mat. TRAI should exert itself as an authority and not a hand maid of the various lobbies. Lets fight them!

November 23rd 2009

To,

Smt. Sadhana Dikshit,
Pr. Advisor (FA &IFA) & Appellate Authorit,
TRAI, Mahanagar Doorsanchar Bhawan,
Jawaharlal Nehru Marg,
Old Minto Road,
New Delhi-110 002.

Sub: Misleading, incoherent and incomplete reply received from PIO, Mr. P.K. Dutta vide letter No. 1(229)/2009-RTI dated 18th November 2009.

Respected Madam,

With reference to the above mentioned subject, the reply received from PIO Mr. P.K. Dutta is INCOMPLETE, INCOHERENT,ABSOLUTELY MISLEADING and NOT TO MY SATISFACTION AT ALL.

1) The definition of Broadband mentioned as per the letter is and I quote verbatim, “minimum speed of Broadband has been kept at 256 kpbs (sic) as per definition adopted by International Telecommunications Union(ITU).

After accessing the website of ITU, the picture is entirely different.
It says and I quote verbatim,” Recommendation I.113 of the ITU Standardization Sector defines broadband as a “transmission capacity that is faster than primary rate Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) at 1.5 or 2.0 Megabits per second (Mbits)”.
(Accessed from http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/birthofbroadband/faq.html and accessed on 22nd November 2009).

Hence this information is INCORRECT AND MISLEADING a customer.

2)The question number “4, 5 and 6” in the letter to PIO dated 6th November have NOT been answered. I had specifically asked:

Does fair usage policy violate any of the provisions of TRAI?
If it does, what action can be taken against errant Internet Service Provider?
Has any Internet Service Provider been ever penalised for violating for introducing “fair usage policy?

NO ANSWERS WERE GIVEN SPECIFICALLY TO THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS and it amounts to WITHOLDING THE INFORMATION.
Further, If the usage of the term “FAIR USAGE POLICY” is ‘illegal’. What action has TRAI taken to notify the various Internet Service Providers to avoid the usage of term and it’s implementation for ‘reducing the speeds’ to 50%’ of the availed plan. The following definition of Fair Usage Policy is taken from Airtel available as a pdf download from their website (www.airtel.in/applications/xm/Fair_Usage_Policy.pdf)

“Under the policy we have defined fair usage levels for unlimited data transfer plans and
needless to mention, the usage levels set are very generous such that most customers will not
be affected by the Fair Usage Policy. On reaching the fair usage level, the plan speed would be rationalized by up to 50% for the restof the monthly billing cycle.”
IS TRAI AWARE OF SUCH A POLICY? WHAT ACTION HAS TRAI TAKEN TO AVOID THE USAGE OF THIS TERM?

3)Question number 8 in letter dated 6th November 2009 was specific and has NOT been answered to MY SATISFACTION, namely,
Has TRAI suggested reducing the price for various plan combinations?If yes, what is the base price fixed for an unlimited Internet Connection by any Internet Service Provider? If no, is there any provision whereby TRAI can act on behalf of the customer to reduce the prices?

I need to know whether TRAI speaks on behalf of the customers, whether TRAI asks the service providers about the break up of the various tariff plans as to under what head the various tariff plans are designed and on what basis the end customer is charged for availing the services of the various Internet Service Providers.

4)Question number 9 has NOT been answered at all namely, “ How has the tariff on unlimited broadband (1Mbps unlimited) being offered by Bharti Airtel fixed line been calculated?”

Please rush the information to me by speed/registered post at the following address listed below. In case the requisite information is not provided to me by the mandatory period, I have the option to escalate the matter to the second appellate authority namely CIC, New Delhi.

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1) To the definition of broadband, TRAI maintains that they have adopted the ‘minimum’ definition of International Telecom Union (ITU) as the speed. Let’s see the context in which the definition of ‘broadband’ has been adopted in their “vision document”

Many people associate broadband with a particular speed of transmission or a certain set of services, such as digital subscriber loop (DSL) or wireless local area networks (wLANs). However, since broadband technologies are always changing, the definition of broadband also continues to evolve. Today, the term broadband typically describes recent Internet connections that range from 5 times to 2000 times faster than earlier Internet dial-up technologies. However, the term broadband does not refer to either a certain speed or a specific service. Broadband combines connection capacity (bandwidth) and speed. Recommendation I.113 of the ITU Standardization Sector defines broadband as a “transmission capacity that is faster than primary rate Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) at 1.5 or 2.0 Megabits per second (Mbits)”.

So there is NO question of this being ’256 kbps’ as is the current ‘definition’ of Broadband as we know it.

2) TRAI does not define the meaning of the term ‘fair usage policy’ or ‘unlimited internet’. This means that everything which is being advertised is against it’s rules and does not have the sanction of the regulator. To my question of taking action against the advertisement of such claims, TRAI is silent.

3) TRAI in it’s RTI application only mentioned about the various tariffs that need to be reported to it about 5-7 days in advance before they are introduced in the market. The tariffs are under “forbearance” and TRAI has no rule in framing the various tariff plans. But does it act when there are only a few players in the market? Does it act against the established oligopolies?

TRAI cannot deny me the information; I am filing a repeat RTI and also appealing against the the present reply to the appellate authority.

The fight against the established players and lobbies continues. The first step is to actually commit these idiots to “change the definition of broadband” from measly 256kbps to a bare minimum of 2Mbps as per the definition of ITU.

LETS SCREW THEM!!!

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I have already documented that each operator needs to file a compliance report with TRAI every quarter including the action taken on the same. I had to push the company to act based on the threats sent as I insisted that they be made public using RTI. It was a “threat” alone which did the trick.

Further, the nodal officer and the appellate authority system doesn’t seem to be working because they are company officials. Even though it is mandated that all complaints be addressed in a time bound manner, it doesn’t happen so. What is the way out?

Department of Telecom is going through it’s own hassles with CBI raids in connection with the huge telecom scam related to auction of spectrum. I don’t foresee anything coming out of it (nor it’s worth reporting here) because it is just political arm twisting. Those officials are useless anyway; in that case, DoT is out of question.

That only leaves us with the option of TRAI and the idea that it needs to be more proactive in enforcing it’s own regulations. This calls for a concerted action against the errant officials because the companies are focused only on customer acquisition and not customer retention. Mobile number portability MIGHT change the service scenario a bit but I am being cynical about it because the exit and the entry barriers would be unfair to customers; unless the ensuing events prove me wrong. The charges for plan migration have yet not been defined; we as customers should demand a “pro-customer” outlook and not whims and fancies of fat cats dictating terms to both Government and Media.

On a happy note, the network coverage in my premises has vastly improved in all areas of building making it a hassle free experience. It took time and effort but it was worth it.

In the process, I learnt about the bad corporate ways too. And recounted it all here

Update (27/10/2009):
I got a call from the Vodafone Network people asking me to send across a mail of “appreciation” for the “good work” that they have done!!

I countered that by asking them to send across the details of their CEO so that I could cc to them as well! Strange kind of assholes indeed!

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Since the last email (and the last blog post),over a month has elapsed. I heard nothing from them. I had emailed to TRAI and came to know that indeed some action was taken on the complaint which addressed the issue of the violation of their own orders. I managed to get hold of a person in the network “team”- different from the usual nodal/ appellate authority crap. I pressed on the charges and suddenly some sense dawned on them.

It was a stinker of an email sent to their office which specifically mentioned the insults as well as the violation of various TRAI’s regulations. Surprise surprise. In the evening, I got a call from the network in charge as well their commercial office via a conference call. The nodal officer was a party to the same.

It was a free flow of the exchange of the ideas. I told them specifically that any of the concern needs to be given to me in writing. This in turn, would be proof of their inadequacy to service the customer. It appears that they had been well informed about the case; more so when they dropped names. It was worthwhile to name the nodal officer and their ilk about their utter incompetency and to make them work as well as see reason to ensure seamless coverage.

The big news was the mobile number portability which would kick in from this year end. In that case, we can always hold this as a bargaining chip to negotiate better contracts or better service levels.

In all this brouhaha, I learnt that the telecom operators are supposed to file in reports every quarter with TRAI regarding the status of complaints. Although TRAI doesn’t entertain the individual complaints directly, they do write in to the operators when their own regulations are flouted. Most of the operators who don’t respond or address the consumers in the given time frame, do so. Fact of the matter is that there is no point in cursing the idiots because the inherent system is not going to change overnight. The wheels of the Indian Government move slowly at a glacial pace. Hence a bit of patience is required at the same time.

I am toying with the idea of filing a RTI application regarding making those compliance reports as regards to the benchmarks public. Those compliance reports need to be put online; the same should be available on the website of each individual operator so that the status of a given complaint can be tracked. Further, the customer should be informed periodically through SMS regarding the pendency as well as the action taken through written or electronic means.

I threatened Vodafone’s bosses regarding filing of those reports through RTI as well as making these telecom operators little more answerable to their paying customers. I am sure that a strong message has gone and I waiting for the next week when something is promised to happen.

It’s high time something is done on an urgent basis to clean the augean stables.

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I have realised one thing. The whole system sucks because we have allowed it to be so. We have not taken them to task nor demanded any system of accountability. The myth that customer is the king, is good in theory and the private investors have covered their asses really well. At a deeper level, it isnt the fight between a ‘lonely blogger’ and a corporation. I dont fancy such loose ideas for myself. Frankly, the whole purpose is to understand how the system works and how best I can derive the value for my hard earned money.

Below here, I reproduce the email sent to the customer care and the nodal officer. I have cc’d to their appellate authority; probably staffed by some brain dead asshole. So far, I haven’t recieved any of the email from the higher ups and it is next to impossible to break their opaque walls to approach their “CEO” of the likes of such idiot.

Dear Sir/Madam,

This is in pursuance of the earlier emails and the telephonic conversation which I had with one Ms. Geetika Ahuja. I am sorry to say but your company is giving out different versions with each OFFICIAL interaction. You REFUSE TO DOCUMENT the verbal exchange on the telephone.

I quote three different instances:

1) On July 22nd 2009, I had mentioned about one Mr. Rahul who claimed to be a “senior executive” from your company. Despite my insistence, he refused to give me his full name. Further, Mr. Rahul verbally claimed you needed permission to set up an EXTERNAL CELL SITE and that you were awaiting a permission from the Government for the same. The same would be rectified in October. When I challanged him to give me the proof, he hung up.

2) The second email recieved, you had clearly documented in writing about this on 28th July:
However, despite our best efforts towards optimization of the network, due to technical and other problems beyond our control, there could be certain points where indoor coverage may not be that good. This could be due to the presence of big structured buildings, as in your case.
Nonetheless, our network engineers have thoroughly investigated your complaint and have tried to find the possible solution under the circumstances. Maximizing and optimizing the network for an error free service is an ongoing activity of Vodafone.

3) The third email recieved on 4th August 2009 from the nodal office:
“At the outset, we would like to state that our current outdoor network coverage is adequate and comparable with any other network.Nonetheless, our network engineers have thoroughly investigated your complaint and have tried to find the possible solution under the circumstances. Maximizing and optimizing the network for an error free service is an ongoing activity of Vodafone.Further, we would also like to inform you that to enhance the network connectivity we require the approval from concerned authorities regarding installation of In-building solution.

The point here is that on 22nd July, you needed permission to install cell site. On 28th July, you blamed the building for the poor network coverage. On 4th August 2009 you agreed that there was a problem with the coverage and to “enhance” the poor coverage you needed an inbuilding solution for the same.

YOUR COMPANY HAS BEEN UNABLE TO STICK ON TO ONE STAND.

Then on 07/08/2009 I get a call from Ms. Geetika Ahuja who informs me VERBALLY that they have sought the permission from the hospital authorities and wanted me to meet Vodafone’s network engineer in person to liase with the concerned people to have the required inbuilding solution installed. I refused that point blank because I am nowhere concerned with the nitty gritty of this matter and I need a working solution at the earliest.

There are several points here:

1) Your changing statements with every email can be put up in court of law because each time you are misguiding a customer. If I have to claim compensation PURELY on these grounds, I can easily claim that. I am sure that your “legal eagles” and the smart battery of lawyers WOULD understand this. For the same reason, you as a NODAL OFFICER, can be hauled up in the courts for CHANGING you official line of communication to a customer. I have full right to press charges against you for deficiency in service, for causing me mental harrassment and for misleading me in your official communication with me.

2) If you agree that an inbuilding solution needs to be installed to “enhance the coverage”, I have VERY CLEARLY mentioned in the earlier emails to your customer care department. WHY WAS NO ACTION TAKEN EARLIER?

3) I need to have a time frame, the details of the permission sought for from the hospital authorities in writing and the refusal if any, to be documented and shown to me in writing. I cannot TRUST a company which changes it’s version in every email.

4) It is only because of my persistence that I am seeing a change in your statements. Had I NOT PERSISTED, you would have JUST IGNORED MY EMAILS.

SHAME SHAME VODAFONE. Your credibility has gone down to the pits. I cannot expect a multibillion dollar multinational to have it’s corporate ethics gone down the drain. I am surprised that this is not in the notice of the higher ups because I am sure that they would be pained to see such crass behaviour from the nodal office and NO RESPONSE from the appellate authority who HAS SO FAR NOT EVEN RESPONDED to EVEN ONE EMAIL.

The matter would have simply ended with your admission of the fact that there is a problem with the network reception and if you would have paid heed to my earlier emails. Constraining myself to a civilised public discourse, I am extremely sorry to say that I am anguished and frustrated at your behaviour and you have caused me undue mental harrassment. The least I can expect you to do is to expedite the matters at your end and give me my network coverage.

Needless to say, my lawyer has examined the contents of the email and if need be, I would be pressing for the charges and claim heavy punitive damages from you and your company for causing me UNDUE MENTAL HARRASSMENT, WASTE OF MY VALUABLE PROFESSIONAL TIME and GROSS DEFICIENCY IN SERVICE.

I hope and expecting that there are qualified people in your department WHO CAN UNDERSTAND THE CONTENTS OF THE EMAIL and ACT ACCORDINGLY.

I am awaiting response to the latest tirade against the morons

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They have a lousy network and I have been experiencing frequent call drops and network congestion to connect to other operators. They have among the worst tariffs for GPRS access and it’s a nightmare to get them to respond to simple queries. I am entitled to my opinion for all practical purposes.

Unfortunately, despite the littany of complaints, it becomes very difficult to communicate the change of phone number to other people. I have a feeling that the regulatory watchdog should come up with a solution like detailing the network parameters and perhaps a survey which measures the various parameters of the service operator like complaint handling etc.

I was surprised to read that any complaint being sent to the Appellate Authority needs to be sent in “duplicate” and that it takes 3 months for the complaint to be resolved. 3 months! I’d be better off minus their services.

I have just emailed to their nodal officer and got an auto reply saying that they need two working days to respond. I shall be updating their responses here on the blog. Let the world know what they are up to.

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