Trai to roll out call quality rating app, crack down on pesky calls

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will soon add more muscle to its Do Not Disturb (DND) initiative to block unsolicited marketing calls and messages. The regulator on Friday also said it will roll out an app that enables subscribers to rate the service quality of a phone call.

The 'mycall' app would be available by the end of this month, Trai chairman R S Sharma said at 'Digital Broadcasting in India – Way Forward', a seminar in Delhi to commemorate the completion of 20 years of the regulator's formation.

''We would like the consumers to assess the quality of calls through 'mycall' app, which will be rolled out by this month end,'' he said.

Once downloaded, the new app would give the subscribers the option of assessing the quality of all or a portion of calls. When a call is completed, the users will be able to rate it, and the data will be analysed by the regulator.

''The application will pop up a window and enquire about the quality of the call. The subscriber can give it one star to five stars. There will also be assessment parameters like whether the call was indoors or outside or while travelling,'' he said.

The government and the regulator have refused to lower their guard on the issue of call drops, and have kept a close watch on call quality through initiatives like drive tests and automated call system.

Last year, when instances of call drops spiked, the government and the regulator made a coordinated effort tackle the issue through deliberations with the industry.

The DoT has set up an IVRS or automated call system, which makes random calls to subscribers to check the quality of calls. The system is helping the government identify blind spots or areas that do not receive mobile signals or get weak ones.

Trai through its analytics portal has also rolled out initiatives that measure data speeds and map call drops in India, which is the world's second largest telecom market with 1.12 billion mobile subscribers.

Sharma said that Trai also plans to ''strengthen'' the 'Do Not Disturb' or DND service aimed at blocking pesky calls by telemarketers.

''We have already done a lot of work in this,'' Sharma said, but refused to elaborate.

At present, there is a framework for DND registry that allows telecom subscribers to block unwanted communication from telemarketers. Reaching out to such subscribers can result in a heavy fine for telemarketers.