Trai sets new quality norms for 4G networks to check call drop, voice mute

India's telecom regulator on Tuesday released new parameters for assessing call quality on the 4G network with a view to checking problems like voice mute faced by customers.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has decided to measure call quality on the 4G network in terms of data packets -- a parameter different from benchmarks used for assessing call drops on 2G and 3G networks.

The regulator has mandated telecom operators to ensure that not more than or equal to 2 per cent of total data packets transmitted during uplink and downlink of calls should be lost so that customers get to experience better call quality.

New norms would be applicable from October 1.

Voice calls on 4G network are made using data as the entire network is developed using Internet protocol (IP) technology.

In case of 2G and 3G networks, customers experience automatic disconnection of calls which is called as 'call drop'. However, since the advent of 4G network, customers often do not get to hear voice from the other side due to data loss and disconnect call on their own. Such disconnection does not qualify as a call drop under the norms for 2G and 3G networks.

Additionally, Trai also directed telecom operators to conduct field test for ascertaining reason for delay in setting up of call on 4G network every quarter starting October 1.
 

"Authority considered the views of stakeholders and decided to introduce two new network parameters for QoS regulations 'Down Link (DL) Packet Drop Rate or DL-PDR' and 'Up Link (UL) Packet Drop Rate or UL-PDR', to measure overall packet loss or drop in both downlink and uplink at PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol) layer," Trai said.

When a person speaks the voice is converted to data and is sent to target destination or to the device of person on the other end.

"Guidelines for evaluation of radio interface technologies for IMT Advance', a user is defined to have experienced a voice outage if less than 98 per cent of the packets have been delivered successfully. In view of above, Authority decided to prescribe benchmarks as less than or equal to 2 per cent for both the parameters," Trai said.