Today is the last day to submit comments to the TRAI, on the consultation paper on the regulation of Mobile Value Added Services. Please mail your responses to the 10 questions posed (details here) to advbbpa@trai.gov.in or bbpa@trai.gov.in by the end of the day today. We've already submitted our recommendations, which you may view here (or download a copy here). We've given suggestions keeping in mind the need to address the following issues: - Lack of significant interest among Internet companies to launch mobile VAS offerings - Need to bring billing for content and services on mobile in line with m-commerce, in terms of verification. - Need to bring telecom operator billing in line with payment gateway guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India, to enable clearances of payments. - Limited venture capital investment in Mobile VAS companies, which has been limited to a few well entrenched players - Need to define a policy that takes into account digital ubiquity, independent of access service provider, whether telecom operator, ISP, BWA or DTH operator. - Lack of transparency in customer billing, which results in services and being priced inordinately high. - Cartel-isation among telecom operators when negotiating revenue shares - Payment delays and billing disputes between VAS companies and Telecom Operators - Limited customer options, in terms of number and types of services available - Need for MVAS businesses to own their identity (short code), and own a single short code across telecom operators, so they can have the confidence of…
