With the recent guidelines issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which limited text messages up to 100 SMSs per day, the worst affected are the hearing impaired who use about 100-200 SMSs per day. The TRAI resolution aimed to get rid of unsolicited telemarketing calls and pesky messages.
"We are educated and lead independent lives. We never used telephones till text messages became an integral part of our lives. We feel the freedom to send as many SMS messages as we like to our friends and relatives has been curtailed because of TRAI's regulation," says 45-year-old K S Chandramouli, who works in the Indian Air Force as store supervisor.
Chandramouli has been using mobile for the last eight years. "I sometimes send nearly 100 SMSs per day and sometimes over 100." He uses the pre-paid scheme of a private mobile operator that has an offer of Rs 21 for 200 local/national SMSs per day for 365 days.
DUAL SIMs WAY OUT?
56-year-old Anantadev Das who heads NGO Universal Sanatana Dharma and is hearing-impaired, sends more than 250 SMSs every day. "I have to chat with many hearing-impaired persons all over India through SMS," he adds.
This move would lead to usage of multiple sim cards. "I am using two sim cards as of now. TRAI regulations are not satisfactory. This would lead to usage of more sim cards," Das told TOI.
Noor Fathima (36), an employee in an account firm, has hearing impairment from birth. "I send about 80-100 messages per day, mainly to my friends, brother and my father. TRAI must exempt hearing-impaired persons from the restriction," says Fathima.
'GIVE US RELIEF' "Restrictions must be relaxed for the hearing-impaired. We must be allowed to text up to 200 messages per day. We will submit medical certificates to network companies to prove that we are hearing-impaired," many hearing-impaired persons said.
Courtesy Article written by Sunitha Rao R on THE TIMES OF INDIA
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