Telecom minister Manoj Sinha to take up call drop issue with operators

NEW DELHI: Call drops and the government's ambitious Digital India programme will be the focus of talks that new telecom minister Manoj Sinha holds with the country's top mobile operators next week.

The minister has summoned the honchos of the telecom sector on Monday and has listed the poor call quality and the digital outreach initiative as key discussion areas.

Sources in the ministry said that Sinha, who took charge from Ravi Shankar Prasad earlier this month, wants a greater focus on improving the quality of service to consumers. "The minister is keen to take the industry's feedback on the steps being taken on the call drops issue, especially as mobile quality still remains an area of concern," a source said.

The meeting comes at a time when the telecom ministry is also studying suggestions made by regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for more teeth to punish mobile operators who have poor network quality. It is believed that the minister will also apprise the industry about the upcoming telecom auctions.