Rising call drops top priority for DoT in 2018, says telecom secy

Resolving the persistent issue of call drops will be the top priority of the telecom department in 2018, telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan told ET, as complaints of poor call quality have been rising in the last few months.

The telecom secretary added that the new national telecom policy will shift the focus of the sector towards affordable accessibility and quality of service, and away from revenue generation, which has been a moniker for the telecom sector till now.

"There will be a shift with the NTP (that) revenue is (will be) a secondary concern, and that the focus will be on accessibility and services," Sundararajan told ET in an interview on Thursday.


"Too much focus on revenue will have to shift because we want to investment to go into the sector," she added.

The secretary also expressed concern on the rising number of call drop complaints and said that the department was closely watching the situation and will meet carriers after the data based on new quality of service norms becomes available after January 21.

"In the new year, call drops will be the highest point of concern for the department. We'll be putting the industry on notice (to improve their services)," she added.