[mac187]

Great to hear that things worked out.

I would suggest you stick on with Loop, now that you know the few people in their system any future issues can be dealt with the right people swiftly.

[SDP]

Felt relieved after hearing that the ordeal is over. Effort from lots of close friends and well-wishers has paid off. Happy for you chief!

[Mohitkumaar]

I think that the battle may be over but the war has just begun. The kind of 'market practices' of calling frequently called numbers by the cell carriers is just one case of stupidity and sheer bad business practices. Another of course is the arbitrary manner in which they take (or do not take) actions against people who make unwanted calls on DND numbers.

Let this instance be the rally point where we start teaching a lesson to our telcos.

[hvkumar]

Today's Afternoon's midday newspaper of Mumbai has a story on my mobile matter (written before number was restored),
http://www.afternoondc.in/city-news/.../article_91928

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Mohitkumaar

I think that the battle may be over but the war has just begun. The kind of 'market practices' of calling frequently called numbers by the cell carriers is just one case of stupidity and sheer bad business practices. Another of course is the arbitrary manner in which they take (or do not take) actions against people who make unwanted calls on DND numbers.

Let this instance be the rally point where we start teaching a lesson to our telcos.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Today's Afternoon's midday newspaper of Mumbai has a story on my mobile matter (written before number was restored),
http://www.afternoondc.in/city-news/.../article_91928

The war has begun......
How we take it forward - articles in the Press, discussions on TV, viral dissemination of information - is in our hands
All those who are resourceful - please do use this case study to get us to a stage where we feel safe when we use our mobile phones.

[mpksuhas]

^^ The above mentioned news article mentions the phone number fully. Won't it have been better if they masked couple of digits.

[Mik]

Now that the ordeal is over, I have an off topic question for you hvkumar Sir.
Why Loop mobile? Considering that you travel up and down the country, won't a BSNL with its superior coverage be a better option for you.

P.S: I have no knowledge of loop or its network coverage.
P.S 2: Listened in on the conversation you had with the loop folks and shared on the fb page some days back. Awesome stuff. Felt like a college senior ragging a clueless junior

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

^^ The above mentioned news article mentions the phone number fully. Won't it have been better if they masked couple of digits.

Well, my mobile number is available in public domain widely anyway, and I receive lots of unsolicited calls all the time. In any case, I have no control over the news report which was based on the Press Release which was circulated to the media by a free lancer & activist.

Originally Posted by Mik

Now that the ordeal is over, I have an off topic question for you hvkumar Sir.
Why Loop mobile? Considering that you travel up and down the country, won't a BSNL with its superior coverage be a better option for you.

P.S: I have no knowledge of loop or its network coverage.
P.S 2: Listened in on the conversation you had with the loop folks and shared on the fb page some days back. Awesome stuff. Felt like a college senior ragging a clueless junior

No, Loop coverage is good across the country, never faced any serious network issues. I do have a prepaid BSNL card, but its coverage is very bad, its signals so weak that I do not even get it in my office in South Bombay.

Yes, the meeting with Loop was quite comical the way in which senior officials confessed to their mistakes & worse, admitted that they indulge in "market practices" of slandering customers! I recorded this meeting with 2 audios & 2 videos, just to ensure there were no glitches.

[TheTeacher]

HVK Sir, am very, very glad your mobile # is restored. Very Happy for you!

[PetrolRider]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

However, I would like us to take up some of the generic issues raised in this sorry episode, which I am summarising:

1. Do mobile companies have safeguards for blocking a mobile number when complaint(s) are lodged against it?

2. How do you protect yourself against mobile companies from tapping your phone not only for voice, messages but also data that passes through your phone?

3. When India has a powerful Information Technology Act, why are we unable to stop mobile companies from accessing confidential data & misusing it?

4. Should not this "market practice" of defaming customers purportedly for arm-twisting them for recovery of dues, etc stop?

Dear Sir,

From my knowledge, the rule forces operators to store the call records (CDR) for each subscribers for a per-defined period (6 month). Unlike voice call, where a designated tapping mechanism is required, data and SMS contents are easily derived from a call record. Though the rule says, the details shall be stored not in a human readable format, tools are available on internet for free to decode these CDRs into readable text. Anybody who has access to N/W, can easily read to anybody' SMS without any fuse, may not officially, but unofficially. That is why the top commands of LOOP refuse to admit, they can access to your SMSs, the junior exec did read through your messages.

And as per point 3, as we have a strong information technology act, we also have even wider loop holes. That is why liking a Facebook page can lead us to jail while giving speeches that may cause wider damage gets ignored.

Point 4, does not comes under TRAI, as this is a criminal activity and provisions are there under our civil code, IF someone likes to go and file a defamation suit.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by PetrolRider

Dear Sir,

From my knowledge, the rule forces operators to store the call records (CDR) for each subscribers for a per-defined period (6 month). Unlike voice call, where a designated tapping mechanism is required, data and SMS contents are easily derived from a call record. Though the rule says, the details shall be stored not in a human readable format, tools are available on internet for free to decode these CDRs into readable text. Anybody who has access to N/W, can easily read to anybody' SMS without any fuse, may not officially, but unofficially. That is why the top commands of LOOP refuse to admit, they can access to your SMSs, the junior exec did read through your messages.

And as per point 3, as we have a strong information technology act, we also have even wider loop holes. That is why liking a Facebook page can lead us to jail while giving speeches that may cause wider damage gets ignored.

Point 4, does not comes under TRAI, as this is a criminal activity and provisions are there under our civil code, IF someone likes to go and file a defamation suit.

I entirely agree with you.
Voice & data has to be stored as part of security guidelines but cannot be accessed unless the clearance of Home Ministry is given.
Phone-tapping (meaning listening to voice) requires highest level clearance from the Home Ministry too.
The IT Act is pretty tough to beat, but getting evidence is not going to be easy.
Yes, getting an arrest warranty issued against the CEO & the offending customer service executive may not be difficult, but who is to bell the cops?

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Good news indeed !

HVK, will you continue helping us as you did earlier , or any changes post this episode ?

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Nothing has changed. These types of events happen & may happen too. We cannot run away just because of that.

SDP, nothing is changed. I just came to know about this whole episode today but just last week, I was in Ladakh and had sent enquiries to HVK using PMs on this forum. As always, had received prompt replies from HVK. Thank you HVK sir! So I think HVK sir will continue helping motorists.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by shipnil

SDP, nothing is changed. I just came to know about this whole episode today but just last week, I was in Ladakh and had sent enquiries to HVK using PMs on this forum. As always, had received prompt replies from HVK. Thank you HVK sir! So I think HVK sir will continue helping motorists.

Thanks!
Luckily, I communicate with many on the road using Whats App - which is neutral to mobile sim card - and I was able to chat with all using my Whats App (connected through W Fi at home & office, and through a prepaid sim card on that phone when out of either) during the entire 18 days when my connection was cut off.

[mmmjgm]

Happy To have helped sir, and these things are a test of one's times, you succeeded only because of your own preparedness and legal inputs from your advocate.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by mmmjgm

Happy To have helped sir, and these things are a test of one's times, you succeeded only because of your own preparedness and legal inputs from your advocate.

Your valuable insights into the working of the telcos and continuous advice and networking to help me is appreciated and was timely and helped me take next steps. Thank you, MM