The government has reportedly ordered a special audit of mobile networks following concerns about frequent call drops. According to reports, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been asked to work out a “structure of incentives and disincentives” based on the service quality of each network. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that telecom operators have been given “ample amount of spectrum’ and it is their responsibility to “upgrade their networks”.
Prasad though has also agreed that the availability of sites for erecting mobile towers is limited and it was affecting the service quality. According to Prasad, radiation rules implemented in India are 10 times more stringent as compared to international standards. Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal had also recently said that the lack of mobile towers is the reason for call drops and ‘misinformation’ around radiation effects need to be addressed urgently.
Telecom Minister Prasad also said that even though TRAI has been empowered, its efforts will need to be supplemented by action by the Department of Telecom itself. “I have directed the Department to conduct a special audit of quality of service parameters focussed on network performance. It will be done by the Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring cell of our Department,” said Prasad in a press conference recently.