By 121 News
Chandigarh 14th December:- The call quality standards of all Operators in Punjab LSA (Circle) which always been superior to National benchmark and significantly has maintained the Quality of Service over the past few months conforming and well below the set TRAI call drop standards of 2%.This has been informed by the DG of COAI.
COAI stated that the cumulative effort of the operators as regularly monitored by DoT and TRAI, along with the Government's support, has ensured sustenance of call quality standards in all key cities like Chandigarh, Amritsar and Ludhiana in Punjab. The industry body also highlighted that all mobile operators were working extensively to improve network quality in Punjab with investments to the tune of Rs. 373 crore made within the last 11 months. COAI added that the industry was doing everything possible to ensure the best possible service delivery to customers , it also reiterated the need to have a long-term approach to the call drops problem at the national indicating that TRAI's compensation ruling could prove to be a dampener.
COAI highlighted that the compensation policy proposed by TRAI is actually a misfit for the problem and would not solve the crucial issues that are aggravating the call drop crisis in the country. Opposing the validity of the regulation, the telecom industry opined that it will encourage the emergenceof a host of new issues such as consumer mistrust and dispute, instead of bringing any relief to the current state of affairs. Working on multiple underlying issues like lack of site availability in critical zones Right of Way (RoW), tower sealing by local authorities and timely approval of towers by local authorities, should in fact be a part of the overall unified approach to resolve call drops, COAI said.
Inspite of the challenges, the industry continues to undertake several measures, in order to address the network quality issues. The telecom operators have been working towards improving network coverage and capacity enhancement through expediting capital investment, network optimization, expansion and roll-out of 3G networks to offload traffic from 2G network, additional sites coming online, etc. Special Drive Tests are being conducted by the operators independently and along with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and TRAI to analyse the reasons for the call drops and accordingly work towards network optimisation for enhancing quality of service for customers. The industry is also reaching out to customers, seeking their help to identify areas where they face call drops and their suggestions on setting up mobile cell-sites.
The telecom industry also highlighted the support required from each individual State, including Punjab. State Government's must partner with the industry and implement the Department of Telecommunication's (DoT) guidelines on tower infrastructure. These guidelines were framed by the DoT keeping in mind all the regional concerns of tower installation. All state authorities should adopt certain measures against unfair action on cell sites in the absence of TERM cells. In addition to this, issues like payment of a predetermined nominal administrative fee, which covers all administrative expenses, timely single-window clearance options for the approval of applications, ensuring availability of adequate resources like water and electricity supply are needed to structure the effective and developed mobile infrastructure in the state.
Commenting on call drops situation in Punjab, Rajan S. Mathews, Director General, COAI, said that in the last one year, the telecom industry has made significant effort to bolster mobile telephone networks across the country. These investments have already started showing results as has been seen in key cities across Punjab. There are however, several other challenges facing operators, like unavailability of mobile towers being major impediments. Nevertheless, the industry will continue to do whatever best can be done to bring down the rate of call drops across India.
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