Telecom operators have preliminarily evaluated the new quality of service (QoS) standards proposed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and believe that they are too stringent and require too much granular data. Further, telcos also found the need for submitting state-wise data challenging, as the network architecture is planned according to the telecom circle.
Telcos also feel that with their network roll out under progress, they can be held accountable as different jurisdictions are involved for different licenced service areas (LSAs). Further, they will also face difficulty in aggregation and coordination of data as it would require a new ID system to be set up which will add to both cost and time.
However, the regulator stated that it had received a number of complaints from subscribers regarding call drops and other network related issues, especially after the roll out of 5G services. The new norms are more stringent than the ones set up for 2G and 3G networks. The TRAI has proposed to change the current benchmark for network downtime from the base station level to the cell level. This would provide a more granular view of network availability.
Similarly, for broadband services, since long term evolution (LTE) 4G and 5G networks support lower latency, the QoS benchmark for latency parameter has been proposed to be less than 100 milliseconds (ms) from the current 250 ms. Due to the long performance assessment periods of a quarter over LSA, the TRAI predicts certain pockets or areas experiencing poor QoS. However due to the averaging effect, service providers have been meeting the overall QoS benchmark at LSA level.
The telcos are currently examining the proposals and will send their comments by September 20, 2023.
