TRAI sent a directive today to telecom operators directing them to change the way majority of Value Added Services are sold in India.

Ring Back Tone service (aka Hello Tunes/Caller Tunes/Welcome Tunes etc) has a feature on many networks that a user can press * while calling a person on same network and listening ring back to copy it as his/her own ring back. TRAI “figured out” this has generated in significant number of wrong provisioning as user does not know if it is going to cost her some cost. Whoops !

Though it acted like a good content discovery tool but it probably generated enough noise for TRAI to suggest extra confirmation on it.

Secondly, many VAS are offered to user by an interactive dial out call (Out Bound Dialer ‘s Call , OBD) in which user listens to about the service, its charges and even options of content. If user wants to activate the service, he is asked to press a key to select and to reconfirm and avoid any confusion a second confirmation key is asked so that any chance of pressing a key by mistake are avoided.

This has been working good, giving users a chance to know about service and content which sits inside the network. No promotion method could peer it as this is very simple (in local language, detailed) and even has experience of content (like listening the exact song clip)  which user can get by paying clearly stated amount.  A confirmation of charging and suggesting to recheck eliminates possibility of erratic provisioning.

According to TRAI, this doesn’t work as your phone might not be with you and someone else who has a phone (like your child ) does know about it and you are charged for service which you “did not want”.

I do not think this has been reason for customer dissatisfaction, instead it could give India a way to reach its telecom masses and give them knowledge about services, content which they want to know and get.

Now TRAI expects users to fax, email, send letter to telecom operator to confirm that they wanted to avail the service. The even suggest if the customer originates such provisioning request (Sending SMS, Calling a number) , it will defined as confirmation to provision the service.

I think users doing  double confirmation, periodic communication to customer of method of de-provisioning , knowledge of single destination to manage such subscriptions, proactive confirmation before renewal could work as customer delight or errant remover.

Will the authorities soon ask all those who take consent on phone (like Credit Card companies ) to ask for a second leg of customer originated request. That could be interesting!