Bad news for all mobile users in India: They will be charged for 'missed calls' soon as per the authoritative decisions. The policy is made and very soon it will be implemented across India on any mobile calls. All local calls will be charged 10 paise, STD 25 paise and ISD one rupee charged to you upon your 'missed call'.TRAI has announced innovative measures to protect the exploitation of the mobile phone operators by the cunning customers. It has put forward a proposal that is expected to ease the ongoing tariff war between the telecom operators. The idea is to charge a service which by far has been used widely but gone unrecognized in terms of revenues. Sources say that the board is on its way to implement charges on “missed calls”.
Board took the decision after realizing that Indians have always been very innovative at the technological front. It is widely seen that people use missed calls as a common mean of communication.
The survey done by TRAI revealed that around 85 percent of the Indian mobile phone users are able to understand and use the missed call language. When this reporter asked random mobile users about this trend, the results were in conformity with those found by TRAI.
“I always ask my girlfriend to give me a missed call once she reaches home when she goes back after meeting me. This way I understand that she has reached home and also don’t need to shell out my balance.” says Champak Choonawala, a Mumbai resident.
The news that missed calls could be charged has enraged customers like Champak, who have formed an organization called MCC (missed calls club) and threatened to launch a nationwide agitation.
“This is absurd. On one hand ministers say they would fly in economy classes or travel by trains to save money and on other hand they want us to spend even for a missed call! Furthermore, why should I pay if it was a genuine missed call and the other person doesn’t receive my call for some reason? That way I’d lose all my money if I call up government offices as babus never answer any call.” Champak, now also the president of MCC, protested.
MCC might be protesting against the decision but the telecom operators are in fact rejoicing the decision. Sources confirm that operators are on their way to implement this service promptly.
Vasant Kumar, a telecom specialist and head of Vodefone India said, “We are thankful to the TRAI for showing us this new dimension. The facility that has been abused of late will now come with a nominal charge which would be lower than a local call or sms rates”, he confirmed.
“Also, there will be a boost in the revenues of the telecom operators who have been facing hurdles like competition, price war and over-smart customers to name a few in adverse economic conditions”, he added.
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