As promised, TRAI is all set to kick off its performance review of telecom operators in Mumbai and Delhi from September 28. The test drive will take place over the course of four to five days.
TRAI, earlier this month, had given the companies 15 days to optimize their networks in order to reduce call drops. The government body has been mum on exactly what measures could be taken if the brands don’t pass the test. In a previous statement, TRAI chairman RS Sharma had promised to consider imposing penalties on the providers if they failed to address the problem adequately.
The authority is currently floating a consultation paper on call drops. The first round of comments on the document has been published online and displayed a wide disparity between consumers and network operators. While the former demanded some form of compensation for dropped calls, the latter felt strongly against such a measure being taken.
According to PTI, the paper is now open for counter-comments till September 28. Once those have been taken into consideration, the issue will be up for debate in an open house discussion on October 1. Sharma confirmed that TRAI would take about a week to formulate a policy and would come out with a final stand on call drops by the middle of the month.
Also See: Call drops to reduce within a month, telcos promise govt
He also spoke about the current status of TRAI’s position in the net neutrality debate. As of now, the regulatory authority is in the midst of processing the nearly 1.8 million comments it received on a paper regarding the rules for OTT services like WhatsApp and Skype. It will give out a definite opinion on the problem within a couple of months.