The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) held a meeting with telecom operators on December 28, 2022, to discuss rising instances of call drops and issues related to quality of telecom services. The meeting was chaired by K. Rajaraman, chairman, Digital Communications Commission, and secretary (Telecommunications), DoT, and attended by telecom service providers including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi).
During the meeting, the issues of interference from illegal boosters and right of way (RoW) challenges were discussed. There are many instances where illegal boosters deployed by peopled have caused interference with main towers and led to inconvenience for consumers at large, and those cases are being identified for corrective action. According to sources, DoT flagged consumer complaints on service quality during the meeting, and added that companies maintained that quality of service norms are being met.
Further, operators made a detailed presentation to DoT on current levels of service quality against stipulated benchmarks. The industry also mentioned locations that are facing specific problems due to signal interference and other factors.
As per sources, DoT is taking a long-term view of service quality-related matters and has asked players to identify problem areas and make suggestions on policy interventions that could improve call connectivity. The department is looking at legal frameworks and policy-level measures that can ensure better quality of telecom services.
