DoT Asks Operators to File Weekly Progress Reports on Call Drop Issue

Concerned over frequent call drops, the Department of Telecom has asked mobile operators to report on weekly basis the steps taken to check this menace and wants them to improve service immediately in the worst-affected areas, including in and around its headquarters in New Delhi.

Operators have been asked to improve coverage in and around Sanchar Bhawan area by August 20, while other places in the national capital where the situation has been found to be worse include Supreme Court premises, Shastri Bhawan (which houses a host of ministries), the Airport-Rashtrapati Bhawan route, certain metro stations and the high-profile Aurangzeb Road.

In a meeting called by the Department on July 13, the mobile service providers were also pulled up for frequent call drops and other network coverage-related issues in various parts of Bihar such as Gaya, Patna, Bhagalpur and Darbhanga.

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In the meeting, all mobile service providers were also directed to file a report of their network performance comprising call drops and efforts made by them for the month of July by evening of August 16.

"Deputy Director General PK Mittal directed the telecom operators to submit weekly reports after filing this report. He asked the companies to take up the issue on war-footing basis for reducing call drops," a source said.

There have been a surge in incidents where mobile users are either unable to complete their calls or voice from only one side gets through.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has found a two-fold jump in call drops on 2G networks and by 65 percent on 3G networks in a one-year period.

Industry average of call drop incidents at the end of January-March 2015 period was 12.5 percent, compared to 6.01 percent at the end of March 2014 on 2G networks.

As per the norms, call drops in worst case scenario should not be more than 3 percent of total calls made on a network.

In the meeting, telecom operators raised the issue of mobile towers not being allowed in some areas by local bodies and resident associations, on which the DoT has assured them that it will take up the matter with the concerned authorities.