Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, in a TV show on CNN, blamed telcos for call drops once again. This time Prasad said telcos are pushing data consumption because it's more profitable and holding back on voice. Prasad was speaking at a show called Bihar Dialogue, taking questions about various issues.
The back and forth between the government and telcos has continued for a while now. A report by PTI today stated that six telecom companies have approached the DoT and TRAI to de-seal mobile tower sites, which have been sealed by three municipal corporations in Delhi. In a letter written by the telcos, the companies said that the MCD has sealed 70 sites in the last month and that call drops issues increase by 20 per cent with the sealing of every 40 sites.
Recently, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had asked telcos to begin dealing with the issue within 15 days. TRAI Chairman R.S. Sharma had recently met CEOs from various telcos to discuss the call drops issues.
The situation escalated the most when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took note of the situation, asking the concerned government bodies to resolve the situation as soon as possible. Modi has shown his concern over the issue on multiple occasions.
While the back and forth continues, the recent 15 day notice to telcos brings some hopes of the situation being resolved soon.