Telcos using new tech to mask call drops

The new technology ensures the call remains artificially connected until the caller or receiver decides to terminate it

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Trying to deflect heat over poor service quality, mobile operators are taking refuge in a new technology to “mask” call drops that shows a call as  “connected” even when the network connection is lost and the caller is unable to hear the voice from the other side.

Earlier, the call used to get automatically disconnected in case of the user moving to a poor network area, making it a ‘dropped call’ under the current regulatory framework.

The new technology ensures a call remains artificially connected until the caller or receiver decides to terminate it and the user is billed for the entire duration despite not being able to talk for full or part of the call duration.

“Telecom operators are using radio-link technology which is helping them mask call drops while the consumer is being billed for the time he is on the call, although it can be said to be artificially connected to a network,” an official source told PTI.