Call drops: DoT may ask telcos to disclose operational capacity

Sources said DoT is going to write to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to ask operators to disclose to consumers, government and the regulator how many subscribers their infrastructure and allied capacity can serve, circle-wise. Simply put, an operator would have to say that in a circle like Delhi it has the capacity to serve only around 5 million subscribers but has double the number. Or another operator could discloses it has a capacity for 5 million users but has only 3 million on its network.

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The assumption is that if consumers are made aware of such details they would naturally opt for service providers that are not bursting at their seams. Similarly, the assumption is also that in a hyper-competitive market like telecom, operators having subscribers twice their capacity cannot simply put a sign stating “no room”, and would naturally do their best to assure subscribers that they would ensure no call drops.

“The proposal is at a nascent stage. We need to write to Trai. They need to devise a methodology by which it can be measured what is the kind of infrastructure in terms of spectrum, towers, etc, an operator needs to serve a certain number of subscribers,” an official said. Trai is already working on a consultation paper on call drops and measures to disincetivise it, and is likely to incorporate this aspect also in it, the official added. Operators and industry said it would be difficult for DoT to keep verifying the authenticity of the claims of the operators. However, some said that the move would be welcome as it gives the operators the chance to communicate to the subscribers that it is not they but the government which is at fault.

The phenomenon of call drops has assumed proportions where operators and the government have blamed each other for it. While the industry says lack of spectrum and inadequate telecom towers (sites) are the reason for call drops, the government says operators need to optimise their resources.

On Tuesday Modi directed officials to resolve the issue urgently as it directly affected the common man, and also asked them to ensure the problems in voice connectivity do not extend to data connectivity in the future. This was followed by telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad stating that telcos have to find a solution as the call drop problem has become serious in past three to four months.

On Wednesday, Gopal Vittal, CEO and MD, Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia), thanked the minister for extending support on the policy front. “We are grateful to the Minister of Communications and IT for his encouraging comments on the contributions made by the telecom industry to enhance mobile connectivity across the country, and also for his concerns on the various issues facing the industry. We would like to thank him for his comments regarding the impact of mobile towers and radio waves as this will go a long way in clarifying various myths and misconceptions surrounding the issue,” Vittal said in a statement.