Telecom regulator to penalise operators for call drops
27 Jun 2018
Telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is preparing to penalise service providers for failing to meet call drop standards for the first quarter of calendar year 2018 quarter.
In October 2017, TRAI had laid down new new quality of service standards that came into effect from 1 October, 2017.
Trai chairman R S Sharma told PTI, two quarters of assessment had been completed since the new standards came into force.
"For the quarter of January to March, we are in the final stage of issuing the penalty."
Show-cause notices have already been issued to operators who have 21 days to submit their responses.
Trai's new service standards are based on network performance between January and March, measured against the new service benchmarks, such as measuring call drops at the mobile tower site instead of for the entire telecom circle, which could disguise the correct level of call drops.
The old rules did not address networks issues like non-functioning mobile towers or network quality in an underserved town. Many other parameters too were tightened, and the regulator also fixed benchmark for radio-link timeout technology (RLT), which can be used to mask call drops.
Trai proposed financial penalties from Rs1 to Rs 5 lakh in a graded penalty system depending on the performance of a network, with a Rs 10 lakh cap.