Trai seeks more powers to penalise telecom firms

It wants changes to the 1997 law to gain powers to penalise telecom firms

- Jatin Grover

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), set up in 1997 to regulate telecom services, tariffs and promote fair competition, wants stringent financial punitive powers to ensure that companies under its oversight strictly play by the rules.

According to three government officials aware of the matter, the telecom regulator is working on a plan to get the decades-old Trai Act, 1997 amended and give itself more teeth. To be sure, Trai has sufficient powers to regulate telecom service quality, resolve disputes through TDSAT, and protect consumer interests, but lacks adequate enforcement powers.