Additional DG (Telecom), DoT NE LSA, Sushil Kumar speaking at the Consumer Outreach Programme organised by TRAI held at Hotel Japfu, Kohima on March 6. (DIPR Photo)
Kohima, March 6 (MExN): A Consumer Outreach Programme organised by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was held with Additional DG (Telecom), DoT NE LSA, Sushil Kumar as the chief guest and Secretary Department of IT Government of Nagaland as the guest of honour at Hotel Japfu, Kohima on March 6.
Sushil Kumar while exhorting the gathering said that the day’s event is a very important from the telecom perspective as well as consumer awareness and that Department of Telecommunications, TRAI and Telecom Providers organises such type of events more often. This event is related to various awareness like tariffs, value added services, mobile number portability, radiations from the mobile tower’s etc, stated a DIPR report. He also emphasised that it is required to protect the interest of consumers and to avoid any fraudulent activities and this event will give a lot of information about cyber security and its inputs in IT as well as smart devices.
Regarding the telecom connectivity in Nagaland, he said that he was thankful to the government for all the help provided and hoped that the same type of cooperation will be available in the future as well so that telecom facilities may get extended in all the district headquarters of the state.
Secretary, Department of IT Government of Nagaland, M Ali Shihab A, in his speech said that it was a great decision for DoT and TRAI to organise this programme dedicated to the consumers at Kohima and for inviting the students’ community. He encouraged the students to open up their minds as this type of opportunity doesn’t come often.
He also added that the Government of India has taken an initiative called Universal Service Obligation Funds (USOF) to ensure that remote and rural areas are covered reducing the digital divide within the country, in the aspect of Nagaland this particular task is assigned to BSNL. “The State Government is also committed to give inclusive development to all and as far as communication is concerned like data connectivity with the initiative of Government of India like 4G saturation and then 5G,” the DIPR report stated.
He exclaimed that people of Nagaland needs better connectivity as they are looking forward to innovate and participate in the economy by actively engaging in various activities. The Government of Nagaland has also proposed an IT Hub, where any student or entrepreneur can come and do innovation, economic activity etc. so for all this a good connectivity is a must.
Stating that community engagement play a vital role in bridging the digital divide, he encouraged the people to actively participate in the initiative aimed at improving connectivity, whether it’s providing land for mobile towers installations or by raising awareness about the importance of telecom services in driving socio economic development.
The programme was an initiative of TRAI to reach out to telecom consumers and other stake holders of the industry and to create awareness about various initiatives of TRAI in the recent times to protect interest of telecom consumers. It was also intended to provide a platform for direct interaction among the stakeholders of the industry regarding consumer centric measures taken by TRAI and related issues.
During the programme, through a detailed presentation, participants were educated about the provisions of different consumer centric regulations, directions and orders relating to Value Added Services (VAS), Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC), Mobile Number Portability (MNP), Complaint Redressal Mechanism, Data services and Tariff etc. Participants were also informed about the benefits of various Mobile apps (TRAI MySpeed app, TRAI DND 3.0 app and TRAI Mycall app), Tariff portal and Network coverage maps developed by TRAI for consumer empowerment and how consumers can take advantage of these apps/portal. Participants were also briefed on various recommendations made by TRAI to facilitate growth of telecommunication and about TRAI's new regulations/Directions on UCC and how they should be extra careful about different telecom fraud like tower fraud, fraudulent message/calls etc.
A presentation on electromagnetic radiation from the cellular tower was presented by Meena, Director, DoT. The presentation dealt with the unfounded concerns of a section of the citizens regarding radiation from cellular towers through scientific explanations and government’s measures.
Kihika Chishi, OC, Cyber Crime PS, Nagaland Police, gave a presentation on cybercrime and cyber security measures and the precautionary measures to be taken by the ordinary consumers to protect themselves from such crime or frauds.
The other speakers at the programme were, DDG, DoT, Nagaland, S Bhardwaj, DDG, DoT, MK Yadav and GM, BSNL, Nagaland, M Gul Mufti. An interactive session was also held wherein participants’ queries related to various aspects of telecom services were responded by TRAI team/ TSPs.
The programme was attended by officials of Information Technology Government of Nagaland, various telecom service providers of Nagaland such as Jio, Airtel, BSNL and Vi and students of Kohima College, Polytechnic Kohima and NIELIT. Welcome address was delivered by Joint Advisor, TRAI, Ashim Dutta.
