TRAI has issued a technical paper on call drops, asking telecom operators to set up more towers and strengthen 2G networks to reduce the problem in India. It further found higher incidences of the issue occurring in urban locations.
TRAI measured the performance of telecom service providers (TSPs) such as Idea, Airtel, Reliance, Vodafone, Aircel and BSNL, against the benchmarks for various quality of service (QoS) parameters. For this report, it employed a number of outside audit agencies to carry out sample tests across 400 cities in India.
The authority additionally conducted independent drive tests (IDTs) in places like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Surat, and Bhubaneswar. The study found that there was a dip in QoS in most of the locations under observation as the overall subscriber base is increasing but the infrastructure is not able to keep pace with the rate, hence the incidence of call drops.
TRAI thinks authorities should address the problem of removal of sites in a satisfactory manner. It believes that the growth in 3G network usage has resulted in a slowing down in the installation of mobile towers which support 2G connectivity. It also recommended a wide range of measures which can be employed by network providers to reduce call drops.
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This includes Call Admission Control Protocol, optimised resource management, multiple call routing, Guard Channels, Auxillary Stations, Measurement-based Prioritisation Scheme, Dynamic Channel Allocation, and Handoff Queuing. These are in addition to utilizing mobile signal boosters at buildings.
The administration had allowed cell towers to be installed on government structures a few months ago. TRAI recently ordered companies to compensate consumers Rs 1 for up to 3 call drops in a day. Telecom operators have been at loggerheads with the body over the scheme, threatening to increase tariffs because of the law.