Telecom operators say call drops beyond their control

Cheap mobiles costing Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 and some of the smart phones coming from China were also causing call drops and slowdown of Internet because of poor quality of antenna and radio equipment

The Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) has protested over the telecom operators being penalised for the call drops that are beyond their control.

In a submission before a Parliamentary Standing Committee, it cited several factors, including a boom in the mobile phones and data connections, as also radio interference by the unauthorised use of repeaters and non-availability of suitable tower locations, causing the call drops.

Officials of Bharti Airtel told the committee headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur that the cheap mobiles costing Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 and some of the smart phones coming from China were also causing call drops and slowdown of Internet because of poor quality of antenna and radio equipment.

The local authorities shutting down the mobile towers, non-availability of 24x7 power resulting in shutdown of the towers, exponent growth in data traffic due to more use of smart phones putting strain on the limited 3G and 4G spectrum were some other reasons cited for the call drops. There are now 1200 million mobile phone users as per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The parliamentary committee agreed with the telecom operators that they can not be singled out for the call drops since there were several factors and no single isolated reason could be pinpointed. It asked the government to urgently call a meeting of all stake holders, including the Telecom Department, TRAI, cellular operators and consumers, to address the different problems identified by it in its discussions with the operators'' representatives.