The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India?s (TRAI) recommendations pertaining to the procedure for providing value added services (VAS) to customers have met with resistance from VAS companies. This is because the VAS providers feel that this could adversely impact this space and may also cause a revenue loss of Rs 15 billion to the government.
As per the regulator?s proposals, VAS providers are required to obtain a confirmation from the consumer through SMS or e-mail within 24 hours of activating the service. The service provider should bill the consumer only if confirmation is received. If not, the services should be discontinued.
TRAI?s proposals are seen as restricting the growth of these services, as the proposed directive expect mobile users to send an SMS as a confirmation of subscription service every month.
