Like food, water and electricity, mobile phone connectivity has become an essential service. Calls getting disconnected is a common complaint. Such call drops, which occur quite often, waste not only time and money, but also annoy people.
There are many reasons why a call gets cut. The main reason is that the service provider does not provide adequate signal to complete the call. Sometimes calls get cut even in places with strong signal. For example, connection could be lost in the basements of buildings, inside lifts and while travelling in a vehicle, when it moves from the range of one tower to another. When a service provider connects a call but fails to complete it, it is called a call drop.
In the past few months, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) noticed a surge in call drops. Trai has issued rules and guidelines regarding service quality. As per that, permitted call drop rate is two per cent. All telecom companies have to regularly submit reports to Trai regarding meeting this norm.
However, most companies state in their reports that call drop rates are within the limits prescribed by Trai. To test their claims, Trai conducted special test drives in Delhi and Mumbai. It found that call drop rates of majority of telecom companies were well above the permitted limit. Instead of two per cent, some companies’ rates were 5-17 per cent.
It was in this circumstance that Trai sought the opinions and suggestions of concerned individuals, institutions and the public. It then decided that telecom companies had to compensate customers. As per that, telecom companies have to put Re 1 in the account of the customer as compensation for every call drop subject to a maximum of three in a day. Once a call drop occurs, an SMS message conveying that money has been refunded must reach pre-paid customers within four hours. Post-paid customers must be informed about the refund in the next bill. This rule will come into effect on January 1, 2016.
The following factors too play an important role in reducing call drops. One such factor is the opposition of individuals and residents associations to putting up telecom towers because of the unwanted fear of radiation. Because of that service providers are unable to put up towers in places where they are needed. Before telecom towers are erected in India, they undergo stringent tests to ensure that they do not emit radiation. The Kerala government’s decision to allow setting up of telecom towers on government buildings is laudable. The Union government too has given the instruction to implement it throughout the country.
Another factor that badly affects transmission is the disputes between service providers and local institutions in some states regarding licence fees and conditions. As the number of customers goes up, service providers have to proportionately increase basic facilities and network. This does not happen many times, and it is the third factor that affects service. The failure of companies in ensuring uninterrupted power supply to telecom towers and in providing generator backup also leads to service disruption.
Mobile phone users have to remember one thing. Rules concerning radiation are very strict in India compared with other countries. Because of that telecom companies cannot transmit powerful signals beyond a certain limit. It means there is no need for concern over radiation. (The writer is a senior IRS officer and Trai’s adviser in Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, and this is his personal view)
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