Trai raps cell firms over voice mail service

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has issued a letter to cellular and mobile service providers in the country asking them not to provide voice mail services (VMS) to customers with out the latter's consent.

"We have received complaints that VMS is being provided by some service providers without the consent of customers," Trai said in the letter.

"It is also noticed that some service providers are sending SMS to subscribers regarding VMS and if confirmation from the subscriber is not received within a specified time, the service is activated," the Trai letter, dated August 8, further said.

This is not a correct approach for taking the consent of subscribers. Unless the subscriber gives a confirmation, in reply to such SMS or any other form of communication from the service provider, the VMS should not be activated, Trai said.

"We have activated VMS for our entire 3.83 lakh subscribers in the circle because it is difficult to seek consent of each and every subscriber before providing the service. Any way, the service is free for our subscribers," K Srinivas, chief operating officer of Airtel, said.

The company launched the service two weeks back in the Andhra Pradesh circle. Airtel and Hutch are offering VMS in the circle, while Idea and BSNL are not.

"We also have plans to offer the facility to subscribers, but we will do it only after seeking the consent of subscribers, as suggested by Trai," Pradeep Shrivastava, vice-president (marketing and sales) for Idea Cellular said.

VMS charges are either free or at a flat rate for retrieval of voice messages. The authority has advised operators to discontinue this service, if offered, with immediate effect for subscribers who have not provided their consent till date and provide compliance to the authority within August 13.

"We have deactivated the service for about 8,000 customers since they felt it inconvinient, Srinivas said. The service is useful for those who are not reachable or switched off their mobiles. Airtel customers can deactivate the service by sending a SMS or dialling the company's toll-free number.

The VMS catch

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Trai says without subscriber's confirmation, VMS should not be activated.

Airtel chief says its VMS service is free for subscribers

Airtel and Hutch are offering VMS in the Andhra Pradesh circle.

Idea says it will offer VMS to subscribers only after seeking the consent of subscribers.