Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri
Lanka (TRCSL)
Second Public
Hearing on Improvement of Fixed Telephone
Subscriber Bills and Resolution of Billing
Related Disputes
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri
Lanka (TRCSL) invites written submissions from
the public regarding the improvement of the
monthly bills sent to subscribers by the Fixed
Access Telecommunication Operators (namely
Sri Lanka Telecom Limited, Suntel Limited and
Lanka Bell (Private) Limited) and resolution
of disputes pertaining to such billing.
This public hearing is convened by the
Commission under section 12 of the Sri Lanka
Telecommunications Act No. 25 of 1991, as
amended and shall be heard by the Committee
appointed under the said provisions.
The Committee invites your kind attention to the
order issued by the Committee of Inquiry on the
first public hearing on improvement of
Subscriber Bills and Resolution of Billing
Related Disputes. Please refer the Gazette
Extraordinary of the Democratic Socialist
Republic of Sri Lanka No. 1073/1 of 29th
March 1999, which is also available in our
website http://www.trc.gov.lk. Those who
are interested in obtaining a copy of the
Gazette should send a self addressed 9” X 4”
sized envelope, indicating the language (Sinhala/Tamil/English)
preferred. The Terms of Reference relevant to
the Second Public Hearing are as follows.
[
Sinhala __
Tamil __
English ]
(*Word Format)
Terms of Reference
1.
Is the itemized
bill/billing information a successful means for
dispute
resolution?
2.
What is the
technical feasibility of issuing bills based on
a threshold value?
3.
Should there be
a threshold value for issuance of free itemized
bills?
4.
If required what
should the threshold value be?
5.
Should itemized
bills be issued ‘free’ of charge in the event of
a dispute?
6.
If answer to 5
above is in the affirmative, what should the
criteria be?
7.
Is the present
‘charging system’ satisfactory?
8.
If answer to 7
above is in the negative, what should the
charging system be?
9.
What is the time
limit that should be given to implement a time
based charging
system?
10.
Is the present
format of bills/itemized bills satisfactory?
11.
What other
information should be introduced into the
present format?
12.
At present is
the periodicity of bills satisfactory? If not,
what should the changes
be? What are the
advantages of a multiple billing cycle?
13.
What are the
difficulties faced by the subscribers at present
with regard to the
payment of
bills?
14. What
is the procedure followed by the billing dispute
resolution committees of the
operators?
15.
What are the
matters /disputes referred to such committees of
the Operators?
16.
Publicity should
be given with regard to procedures adopted by
operators to
resolve billing
disputes.
17.
Publicity given
with regard to charging methods adopted by the
operators.
18.
Whether due
publicity is given to operators’ disconnection
procedures.
19.
Requirement to
retain in archives for verification purposes,
meter readings, record of test calls, faults
repairs and equipment replacements, which could
affect subscriber’s charging. The records to be
retained for a period of at least two years and
for a longer period in case of unresolved
disputes.
Written
Submissions should be
sent on or before 26th
September 2003 to;
Chairperson
Committee of
Inquiry
TelecommunicationsRegulatory Commission of Sri
Lanka
276, Elvitigala
Mawatha, Colombo 08.
Or
Via fax: 01 2671647
01 2676985
Via E-mail:
dgtsl@slt.lk
Website:
http://www.trc.gov.lk
All inquiries
should be made through 01-2689345
The Committee
may invite oral submissions on the basis of
written submissions. Your written Submissions
should be limited to the Terms of Reference set
out above in respect of Sri Lanka Telecom
Limited, Suntel Limited and Lanka Bell (Private)
Limited.
By
order of the Commission,
Themiya L. B.
Hurulle
Director-General
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri
Lanka
276, Elvitigala Mawatha, Colombo 08.
5th August 2003
