The government is expected to ask telecom companies to pay Rs 1 to 5 for each call drop to customers. The plan will be in the consultation paper to be released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India this week. Even though telecom operating companies have claimed that subscribers do not lose when a call drops as those are measured on seconds, the regulator has argued that there is loss of efficiency. The issue has been referred to Trai by the DoT and has come into the limelight after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked telecom minister to examine it and find solutions. [related-post] Trai is expected to suggest that the discounts should be adjusted with the call charges of pre-paid consumers and from the monthly bills of post paid consumers. However, operators have already said they will oppose such cutbacks. The Centre has taken a bleak view of the rampant call drops especially in metros. The rate of call drops — calls getting disconnected before one of the parties hang up is over 20 per hundred in some areas of Delhi. Other busy circles of the country like Mumbai and even smaller cities too are badly affected.
