India's Department of Telecom (DoT) has instructed the nation's operators to do their best to resolve all public complaints within a month's time.
The department's decision making body the Telecom Commission has also approved a proposal to create a dedicated ombudsman under telecoms regulator Trai, the Economic Times reported.
According to the report, the department has sent a directive to all operators noting that complaints sent to the department through its Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRMS) take on average more than 60 days to resolve, and in some cases more than 180 days.
The department has also not found current complaints handling mechanisms – which involve operators first attempting to resolve complaints internally and then the complaints being escalated to the CPGRMS – fully satisfactory.
Meanwhile in Australia, telecoms regulator ACMA has released a final set of new rules aimed at addressing the volume of complaints surrounding customers being left without a fixed line connection while their premises are being migrated to the national broadband network (NBN).
The new set of rules will require NBN retail service providers to conduct a line test to check their customer’s new nbn service is working after installation, and to verify that any existing copper line used in the last mile connection is capable of delivering the maximum data speed selected.
In the event a new nbn service is not working and can’t be fixed within three days, operators will be required to offer an interim service such as a backup mobile service or alternative remedies that are agreed to by the customer.