Telecom operators not meeting call drop norms, says TRAI

The random test drive for call drops by the Indian telecom regulator shows that most of the telecom service providers (TSP) are not meeting the prescribed benchmark.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has laid down the quality of services benchmarks for call drop rate to be less than 2 percent. Most telecom operators missed this benchmark.

The regulator conducted drive tests during December-January period. Tests were conducted on both 2G and 3G networks of service providers, including state-run MTNL and BSNL.

During December 2015-January 2016 drive tests were repeated in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Surat and Bhubaneswar and in addition drive tests were also carried out in Indore.

"In all the cities drive tests were carried out earlier, the same route was followed during the latest drive (around 300 km). For Delhi and Mumbai, the route length was increased to 600 Km after taking inputs from the TSPs about the additional route. In other cities also, the route has been increased wherever possible," the report said.

In Pune, the regulator said, none of the operators has shown improvements. The highest rate of call drops was shown by Tata 3G at 42.93 percent, followed by Idea 3G 20.96 percent, BSNL 3G 11.64 percent and Airtel 3G 7.91 percent.

In Bhubaneswar, all the operators have failed to meet the benchmark.

In Delhi, the regulator said some of the operators had shown improvements. The operators who complied with the benchmark are - Airtel 2G, 3G, Idea 2G, 3G and Vodafone 3G.

In Kolkata, CDMA network of MTS, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications were compliant to call drop benchmark.

In Mumbai, the regulator said results for most of the operators were found to be satisfactory.

In Surat, TRAI said none of the operators were meeting the prescribed benchmark, though there was a marginal improvement in voice quality for some operators.

Regarding Indore, the regulator said some of the operators were meeting the prescribed benchmark.