'Telcos Must Notify Customers About Data Usage at Regular Intervals'

India's telecom regulator Trai on Friday made it mandatory for telecom operators to issue notices in form of USSD or SMS about data usage to its customers at regular intervals.

Mobile network operators now need to send information about the usage to data users at every 10MB of data consumption except customers opting for special schemes like add-on packs, combo offers, and others. The consumers are to be provided with an option to opt out if they do not desire to receive such information.

For customers using special data packs, the operator has to compulsorily inform the customer whenever the limit of data usage reaches 50 percent, 90 percent and full exhaustion of the allotted data limit.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) also ordered the operators to intimate customers when the data balance available in the account reaches 500MB, 100MB and 10MB.

"Further the consumer shall be informed about the details of tariff applicable after exhausting the data limit, when the data limit reaches 90 percent or the data balance available in the account reaches 10MB," Trai said in a note.

Operators also need to send an alert to international roaming customer cautioning the person to deactivate data service if one does not intend to use data services.

Trai ordered the service providers to implement the same by November 1 this year.

The regulator further said data services should be activated only with the explicit consent of the subscriber through a toll free short code - 1925. The same short code can be used to deactivate the data services as well.

"Data services through Special Tariff Voucher or Combo Voucher or add-on pack will be deemed to have been activated with consent till the expiry of the validity period of the voucher/pack or on the consumption of entire data, whichever is earlier," said the Trai notification.

Additionally, the customers also needs to be informed through SMS at periodic intervals about the prescribed procedure for deactivation of data.

The regulator said it has been receiving several complaints from consumers regarding non-availability of information relating to the amount of data used during a data session.