4 Questions by TRAI seeking public opinion on the issue of frequent Call Drops

TRAI asked for the public opinion on the call drop issue and requested the consumers to answer the following 4 questions:
Here are our answers.

Q1: Do you agree that calling consumers should not be charged for a call that got dropped within five seconds? In addition, if the call gets dropped any time after five seconds, the last pulse of the call (minute/second) which got dropped, should not be charged. Please support your viewpoint with reasons along with the methodologies for implementation.

Ans: This is without doubt that calling consumer should not be charged for the dropped call (within 5 sec) but even if the call gets dropped anytime during the length of the conversation, the complete call should not be charged if the length is below 5 minutes OR the first 5 minutes should not be charged if the length is more than that. The cap of five minutes is only in the support of Telecom Companies.

The motive of TRAI and the Ministry of Communications and IT is to meet the quality of service benchmarks and that can be done if strict rules are applied. We want to reach to a situation where calls are not dropped at all, and for that the Regulator and the Govt. should bind the Telecom Companies to take the issue seriously. First 5 sec and Last Pulse limit is very less for these cash rich companies who have ignored this issue since long and are still not serious about it.


Q2: Do you agree that calling consumer should also be compensated for call drops by the access service providers? If yes, which of the following methods would be appropriate for compensating the consumers upon call drop?
(i) Credit of talk-time in minutes/ seconds
(ii) Credit of talk-time in monetary terms
(iii) Any other method you may like to suggest.
Please support your viewpoint with reasons along with the methodologies for implementation.

Ans: Yes, the calling consumer should definitely be compensated and the compensation should be in monetary terms (point ii).

The amount as per the applied tariff should be credited to the consumers' prepaid or postpaid account with reference to the rules mentioned in the first point. The credit compensation is important because, Telecom users in the present time use various services in addition to the calling through the mobile phones. If the compensation is made in the monetary terms, the consumer can avail it in a better way.

Q3: If the answer to the Q2 is in the affirmative, suggest conditions/limits, if any, which should be imposed upon the provision of crediting talk-time upon call drop and usage thereof.

Ans:  The amount as per the tariff of the consumer should be credited to the consumers' prepaid or postpaid account in monetary terms with reference to the rules mentioned in the first point. He should be able to use that credit across services that the Telecom Operator provides.


Q4: Is there any other relevant issue which should be considered in the present consultation on the issue of call drops?

Ans: Apart from Call Drops, many customers are also facing the poor connectivity issues inside their houses or offices or at certain places. To overcome this, the Telecom Companies should be bound to release mapping of the signal strength at the different parts of the city like it happen in few other countries.


These questions can be accessed at the this link: