BTRC: Compensation for Call Drops from Oct 1

Mobile phone users will have to be compensated for call drops from October 1.

That's the curt message from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to telecom companies in this country, reports UNB.

According to new BTRC guidelines issued on Monday, mobile phone operators will have to compensate their customers by refunding talk time for call drops with effect from October.

The new guidelines were unveiled at a press briefing at the regulator's headquarters by BTRC chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder and Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar who was there as the chief guest.

The new guidelines are:

A customer can get information about the previous day/week/month's net call drop amount through common USSD code (*121*765#) -- applicable for all mobile phone operators -- from October 1.

Mobile operators will compensate their subscribers with talk time of three pulses (30 seconds) for each call drop in case of 1st and 2nd call drops daily and four pulses (40 seconds) for each call drop in case of subsequent 3rd to 7th call drops as "financial and emotional loss".

Talk time refunded as compensation for call drops will be usable from the first call (00:00 hours) of the next day, which means no amount can be deducted from the customer's account for the call before the refunded talk time is fully utilised.

The customer should be informed within the next 24 hours through SMSes about the talk time refunded as a result of call drops.

An operator can refund the call minutes from that day of the occurrence of call drop if it wishes. A maximum period of 15 days will be applicable for the usage of the refunded talk time of the call drop.

"If a customer receives a service by paying money, the operator should ensure proper service," Mustafa Jabbar said.

“If telecom companies invest in telecommunications infrastructure rather than compensating customers, call drop rates will decrease,” he added.