TRAI's network coverage map to be live in a few weeks: Sharma

TRAI hopes to go live, in a few weeks, with an all India coverage map on its site that will allow telecom subscribers to check the extent and strength of an operator's network coverage at a chosen location, a top official has said.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had, last year, launched the beta version of the map on a limited scale - covering only two circles including Delhi, and has now roped in a new vendor to scale up its efforts. The previous contract was with Centre for Development of Telematics.

"TRAI is preparing the coverage map of the country so as to identify the black holes or the areas which are not covered or partially covered. We have roped in a vendor who is doing the development, we are taking data from the service providers," TRAI Chairman R S Sharma told PTI recently.

The project will be live in a few weeks' time, Sharma added.

"The coverage map will plot on a map the (network) coverage of operators' services, say 2G, 3G, 4G, VOLTE, with granularity...it will show in a graphical manner which are the areas and extent of coverage. It will also be helpful in a sense that it will say this is the weak area, the coverage is not there...or partially there," he added.

Sharma said the regulator continues to keep a close watch on the service quality being offered by the telecom operators.

"We are always concerned about the quality of service and continue to monitor quality of service closely. We have now increased the coverage of number of cities....there are over 100 cities which are now being covered by independent drive tests, we cover highways and rail routes," he said.