The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been monitoring the level of congestion at the points of interconnection (PoIs) between various service providers on a monthly basis. The benchmark notified by TRAI in the Quality of Service (QoS) Regulation of July 2005 for this parameter is <0.5 per cent, which means that out of 200 calls between two operators only one call can face congestion. The idea behind this exercise is to determine the ease with which a user of one network can connect with another. This parameter is also indicative of how effective the interconnection is between two networks.

Based on the submissions made by cellular mobile service providers for the months of January, February and March 2007, TRAI’s PoI congestion analysis shows that in a number of areas, the level of congestion between the operators has grown at an alarming rate and in several cities, is way above the benchmark.

In fact, according to TRAI, the level of congestion at the PoIs has been increasing since December 2006. Some of TRAI’s key findings are outlined below:

  • The number of PoIs facing congestion has increased from 389 in December 2006 to 499 in March 2007.
  • Of these 499 PoIs, the level of congestion was more than 5 per cent in 245 PoIs in March 2007 as compared to 199 PoIs in December 2006. The number of PoIs with more than 10 per cent congestion was 183 in March 2007 compared to 137 in December 2006.
  • In March 2007, there were 46 PoIs with more than 40 per cent congestion level as compared to 39 PoIs in December 2006.
  • With respect to PoI congestion between private operators and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the number with increased congestion level went up from 300 in December 2006 to 337 in March 2007.
  • PoI congestion among private mobile operators also increased from 89 in December 2006 to 162 in March 2007.
  • The circles/states that are the worst affected by PoI congestion are Bihar, Assam, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, the Northeast, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh (East), Orissa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir.

    • According to TRAI, the main reason for the increase in congestion is the lack of sufficient telecom circuits. While traffic requirements have escalated sharply, telecom infrastructure has failed to keep pace.This has led to inter-network congestion at the PoIs, which has further led to loss of calls, repeated call attempts by consumers and overall deterioration in QoS.

    Though TRAI had issued a directive on June 7, 2005 to all service providers to provide interconnection within 90 days of an operator applying for it, BSNL did not comply. Instead, it approached the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against this directive and the matter is still pending with TDSAT. Therefore, TRAI has been unable to issue show-cause notices in cases of non-compliance.

    Taking matters into its hand, TRAI recently met all the service providers, including BSNL, to express its concern over the deteriorating QoS. In the meeting, private service providers expressed the view that the issue of provisioning of connectivity had been resolved in a large number of PoIs in the recent past. BSNL also stated that more than 75 per cent of the demand for interconnection circuits had been met for direct interconnectivity to BSNL’s mobile network.

    Still, TRAI emphasised that all the service providers need to commission PoIs in a time-bound manner by completing all the related activities including end-transmission link and acceptance tests. TRAI also reiterated that interconnection seekers must place their demand well in time so that interconnection providers could plan their upgradation to meet the demand.

    With TRAI showing that it means business, PoI congestion will hopefully come down, promising consumers better call quality.