TRAI formulates steps to publish circle-wise network quality of operators on regular basis,

TRAI formulates steps to publish circle-wise network quality of operators on regular basis, action will assist consumers to take informed choice

Besides the proposal to give compensation to consumers on call drops, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is planning to publish another paper on tracking the network quality of operators regularly. Such a tracking will help the subscribers understand which operator provides the best service in an area and choose the service provider accordingly.

“Ideally customers should know quality of service provided by each base tower station (BTS), but the feasibility for that needs to be checked,” TRAI Chairman RS Sharma said. “Ideally we should have BTS wise QoS (Quality of Service), but I don’t know feasibility of that as of now.”

Currently, TRAI is assessing the status of service at state or telecom circle level of each operator and plan to publish a position paper. TRAI is considering to make it mandatory for the telecom operators to publish data on their network capabilities on a regular basis. These data will be provided to the citizens to make apt decisions on choosing a provider.

“We will collect data from operators. It will be put on a map and show you status of QoS in your area,” Sharma said. “We are doing data analytics of high granularity to bring out where problem is high and we will also come up with reason. Be it overload, lack of tower, we will come out with reason in a position paper. It will come in couple of weeks,” he added.

Call drop has become a serious concern during the last few months. Following the surge in complaints, TRAI assessed the service quality of operators in Delhi and Mumbai. The regulator found that they do not adhere to the prescribed standards on call drops. TRAI has asked the operators to disclose the steps they have taken to address the issue.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too intervened in the issue and urged the departments to solve the issue at the earliest.

Meanwhile, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said that the issue is not due to the overall capacity of the operators, but it is the aftermath of shutting down of mobile towers across the country. The industry body added that the mobile network capacity of each site is planned on the basis of estimated traffic in the covered areas. However, it did not reveal on its decision to disclose the operators’ capacity circle wise.

“In fact, such a practice is mandatory to honor government’s commitment to transparency and efficient governance,” sources from Government say.