The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has summoned major telecom companies for a meeting on February 17 to review the current state of quality of service (QoS) and measures to improve the consumer experience. With the rollout of 5G technology, the TRAI felt the need for a closer assessment of QoS, which has become increasingly important, the sector regulator said in a media release.
In a statement on Thursday, February 2, the regulator said QoS improvement "is an ongoing exercise, it requires close assessment and monitoring especially with the fast-paced network expansion and introduction of latest technology like 5G."
The meeting will discuss potential “measures and action plan to improve the QoS, review the current QoS standards, QoS for 5G services, and unsolicited commercial communications," it added.
This move by TRAI comes in response to the growing concerns from consumers about call drops and spam calls. With the increasing dependence on mobile phones for communication, the need for a seamless and uninterrupted experience has become crucial.
During the meeting, the telcos will be expected to present their action plan for improvement in the areas of QoS and reducing the number of spam calls.
The telecom regulator conducts audits and objective evaluations to make sure the standards satisfy the QoS benchmark and monitors the performance of telecom services offered by the operators through performance monitoring reports (PMRs), which are collected on a quarterly basis. The PMRs are published on the TRAI website.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) met with telecom operators and internet service providers (ISPs) in December to discuss the issue of rising call drops and declining service quality. The TRAI action is in response to that meeting.
As of November 2022, India had more than 114 crore mobile subscribers, making it the second-largest smartphone market in the world. The main players are Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea.
The meetings take place just a few months after Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel launched commercial 5G services in India in phases in October. Together, the two have reached around 300 cities thus far. Jio plans to wrap up its deployment by December of this year, while Airtel plans to do so by March 2024.
