DoT Said to Have Directed TRAI to Introduce Strict Service Quality Norms

The Department of Telecommunications has asked sector regulator TRAI to make quality of service norms stricter in order to curb call drops and improve call quality, an official source said on Tuesday.

The move comes after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) collected feedback from the public through an IVRS call around call drop, quality of calls etc.

"Quality of service is very important for customer satisfaction and protection of their interests. DoT has requested TRAI for improvement in the present quality of service (QoS) through more stringent parameters," an official said.

The source said that the DoT also observed few key performance indicators while broadly studying global best practices on QoS.

"Same has been shared with Trai today," the source added.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has called a meeting with telcos on February 17 to discuss measures and action plan for improving service quality, review of norms, benchmarks for 5G services, and unsolicited commercial communications.

The move is aimed at improving the telecom service quality and check call drops. It also comes at a time when ultra high speed 5G services are being rolled out across the country.

So far, 5G services have been launched in over 300 cities in India. The next generation of technology that promises turbocharged speeds (about 10 times faster than 4G) and low latency connectivity.

Issues around service quality have been in the spotlight over the last few months. The telecom department back in December met operators to discuss rising instances of call drops and service quality-related issues, as it deliberated on policy measures that can be considered for improving call quality.

Launch of 5G services was expected to improve call quality, but instead people have complained about deterioration in quality of service.

According to an online survey by LocalCircles released in mid-January, 42 percent of 5G subscribers surveyed report no improvement while 19 percent report deterioration in call connection and call drop issues after moving to 5G services.

Half of the respondents in the survey shared that they face call connection and call drop issues with over 25 percent of their calls and 28 percent of them claim they have issues with over 50 percent of their calls.

Telecom operator Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have been rolling out 5G services across the country.

State-run BSNL and debt-ridden Vodafone Idea are yet to roll out 5G services.