Issues at local level main cause for call drops: COAI

NEW DELHI: A telecom industry body has said the problem of call drops was greater in data-based networks such as Voice over LTE (VoLTE) than in 2G and 3G technology services, and added that non-implementation of rules at local levels that hampered network rollouts was also a big factor in poor call quality.

The Cellular Operators Association of India, which represents all telcos, said the new rules by the regulator on monitoring and reporting call drops were very stringent and implementing them would require major changes in systems, processes and alignment with stakeholders and vendors.

“We hold the view that penalty or financial disincentive should not be there,” said Rajan S Mathews, director general of the association. The regulator has made provisions to impose a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh on service providers if they fail to meet the benchmark for three consecutive quarters. “Law of the land should work as indicated, but ease of business is not there when we get down to local levels,” Mathews told reporters during a discussion on call drops.


VoLTE is offered across India by Reliance Jio Infocomm, while older rivals Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, which have operate 2G and 3G services, are gradually introducing VoLTE as well.

Mathews said most causes of call drops on the customer side have not been considered under the new regulations. COAI said call drops may occur because of signal interference, congestion on cell sites, weather conditions, faulty handsets and call transfer from one tower to another.