Lok Sabha Question No. 3588 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Call Drops
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: HARI MANJHI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3588

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 8 TH   AUGUST, 2018

## CALL DROPS

†3588. SHRI HARI MANJHI:

SHRI SANKAR PRASAD DATTA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of call drops reported per day across the country, State/UT-wise and Telecom Service Providers (TSP)- wise;
- (b) whether the cases of wrongfully hiding the issue of call drops by the TSPs have come to the  notice  of  the  Government  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  action  taken  by  the Government against the erring TSPs; and
- (c) the  manner  in  which  telecom  customers  are  likely  to  be  compensated  on  account  of losses incurred by them?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a) As per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act, 1997, the quality of services including  assessment  of  call  drops  rate  in  mobile  networks  is  regulated  by  TRAI  through  the notified  'Standards  for  Quality  of  Services  for  Basic  (Wireline)  and  Cellular  Mobile  Telephone Services Regulations' as amended from time to time.

TRAI has revised the Call drop-rate benchmarks and its assessment methodology with effect  from  1 st October  2017.    The  first  parameter,  Call  drop-rate  Spatial  distribution  measure (benchmark ≤ 2%) mandates that at-least 90% of Cells in the network should perform better than specified 2% benchmark on at-least 90% of days in a quarter. The second parameter, Call droprate Temporal distribution measure (benchmark ≤ 3%) will give confidence that on at-least 90% of Days in a quarter, network has performed better than specified 3% benchmark for at-least 97% of the Cells.

TRAI  undertakes  the  assessment  of  Call  drop  rates  in  mobile  networks  against  the specified benchmarks on quarterly basis. Accordingly, LSA-wise TSP-wise compliance status as per Report for the quarter ending March 2018 is placed as Annexure-I.

- (b) No such cases have come to the notice of the Government.
- (c) In the case of call drops, the customer is charged for the actual duration of the call i.e. till the  call  drops.  However,  to  compensate  the  consumers  for  such  dropped  calls,  TRAI  through Telecom Consumers Protection (9th Amendment), 2015 dated 16 th October 2015 had mandated the originating service provider to credit the account of the calling consumer by one Rupee for each dropped call within its network, subject to a maximum of Rupees 3/- per day. However, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has set aside the Regulation vide order dated 11 th May 2016.

## Call drop rate benchmarks:

LSA-wise status of compliance by TSPs, as per TRAI Report for quarter ending March 2018 is listed below:

Non- compliant TSPs as per measure

| Sr.                                    | License Service Area (LSA)             | Non- compliant TSPs as per TRAI Call drop-rate benchmarks   | Non- compliant TSPs as per TRAI Call drop-rate benchmarks   |
|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                        |                                        | Spatial distribution measure (benchmark ≤ 2%)               | Temporal distribution measure (benchmark ≤ 3%)              |
| LSAs with full compliance by all TSPs. | LSAs with full compliance by all TSPs. | LSAs with full compliance by all TSPs.                      | LSAs with full compliance by all TSPs.                      |
| 1                                      | Andhra Pradesh                         | All TSPs comply.                                            | All TSPs comply.                                            |
| 2                                      | Chennai                                | All TSPs comply.                                            | All TSPs comply.                                            |
| 3                                      | Delhi                                  | All TSPs comply.                                            | All TSPs comply.                                            |
| 4                                      | Karnataka                              | All TSPs comply.                                            | All TSPs comply.                                            |
| 5                                      | Kolkata                                | All TSPs comply.                                            | All TSPs comply.                                            |
| 6                                      | Kerala                                 | All TSPs comply.                                            | All TSPs comply.                                            |
| 7                                      | Madhya Pradesh                         | All TSPs comply.                                            | All TSPs comply.                                            |
| 8                                      | Odisha                                 | All TSPs comply.                                            | All TSPs comply.                                            |
| 9                                      | Tamil Nadu                             | All TSPs comply.                                            | All TSPs comply.                                            |
| LSAs with non-compliance by a few TSPs | LSAs with non-compliance by a few TSPs | LSAs with non-compliance by a few TSPs                      | LSAs with non-compliance by a few TSPs                      |
| 10                                     | Assam                                  | M/s Idea                                                    | M/s Idea                                                    |
| 11                                     | Bihar                                  | M/s BSNL                                                    | All TSPs comply                                             |
| 12                                     | Gujarat                                | All TSPs comply.                                            | M/s Tata                                                    |
| 13                                     | Himachal Pradesh                       | M/s Idea                                                    | All TSPs comply.                                            |
| 14                                     | Haryana                                | M/s Tata                                                    | M/s Tata                                                    |
| 15                                     | Jammu & Kashmir                        | M/s Idea                                                    | All TSPs comply.                                            |
| 16                                     | Mumbai                                 | All TSPs comply.                                            | M/s Tata                                                    |
| 17                                     | Maharashtra                            | M/s Telenor                                                 | M/s Telenor                                                 |
| 18                                     | North-East                             | M/s Idea                                                    | M/s Idea                                                    |
| 19                                     | Punjab                                 | M/s Tata                                                    | M/s Tata                                                    |
| 20                                     | Rajasthan                              | M/s Tata                                                    | M/s Tata                                                    |
| 21                                     | Uttar Pradesh (East)                   | M/s Tata, M/s Telenor                                       | M/s Tata, M/s Telenor                                       |
| 22                                     | Uttar Pradesh(West)                    | M/s Tata                                                    | M/s Tata                                                    |
| 23                                     | West Bengal                            | M/s BSNL                                                    | M/s BSNL                                                    |

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