India introduces new broadband service penalties

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has introduced new rules and penalties to ensure local telcos report truthfully regarding the quality of their broadband services and meeting compliance regulations. 

In a Times of India report Wednesday, TRAI stated in its Quality of Service of Broadband Service (Amendment) Regulations, 2012: "If the compliance report furnished by a service provider providing broadband service...is false...it shall, without prejudice to the terms and conditions of its license...be liable to pay an amount, by way of financial disincentive, not exceeding INR 1 million (US$18,288) per parameter."

Should a telco fail to meet the benchmark quality of service (QoS) for broadband services, it would also be liable to pay a penalty of up to INR 50,000 (US$914) per incident. The new regulations will come into effect Jan. 1, 2013, it added.

The telecom regulator said these new penalties serve as a financial disincentive for broadband service providers should they not comply with the benchmarks. The rate for the first transgression will not exceed INR 50,000 (US$914) per breach, and subsequent non-compliance will not exceed INR 100,000 (US$1,828).

The various QoS parameters include activation time of broadband connection, fault report or service restoration time, billing issues, response time to assist customers, and connection speed, the Times of India said.