Govt mulls platform for user feedback on call drops

As it looks to get feedback on call drops directly from customers, the government is planning to set up a platform in a month where users can share their response, telecom minister Manoj Sinha said on Tuesday.

Sinha, who met chief executives of telecom companies to review the call drop situation, said that going by Trai, there was improvement but the government would want to hear it directly from customers.

He further said the government would not hesitate to take action, be it penalty or beyond that, if there was a need for it.

He said the telecom operators, excluding Reliance Jio, have set up over 61,000 base tower stations (BTS) during the 100-day plan against the targeted 60,000.

Sharing figures, Sinha said Airtel has put up 22,000 BTS, Idea set up 25,382 BTS, and Vodafone set up 13,870 BTS. Additionally, Reliance Jio has set up 35,000 BTS.

In June this year, telecom operators had given a 100-day plan on a strategy to address the call drop issue. The telcos had committed to set up 60,000 BTS as part of the plan within 100 days, and 100,000 BTS over one year.

Meanwhile, Cellular Operators Association of India said since June, the sector had set up about 129,101 BTS, exceeding the target by double the number. The total BTS in the country stood at 1,345,470.