Trai floats consultation paper on wireless broadband data speed plans

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Thursday issued a consultation paper seeking stakeholders' opinion on wireless data speeds in a bid to make consumers aware of wireless broadband plans and to ensure transparency.

Trai has sought comments from stakeholders on consultation paper 'Data Speed Under Wireless Broadband Plans' latest by 29 June and counter-comments by 13 July.

"The surge in the number of broadband connections in the country has been accompanied by increasing reports of consumer dissatisfaction with the speed of data being provided to them under wireless broadband plan."

"Consumer empowerment and protection is a critical element of a well-functioning telecom market," it added.

The paper said, ideally, consumers who are dissatisfied with the services or prices offered by their operator should be able to easily switch to another provider, creating incentives for providers to innovate and offer competitive prices and quality of services.

"The widespread adoption of wireless broadband services in the last few quarters makes it particularly important to take into account the problems that may be faced by the users of these services, particularly in relation to data speeds," the consultation paper added.