Lok Sabha Question No. 237 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: Poor Network Connectivity
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: KULAMANI SAMAL, J. JAYASINGH THIYAGARAJ NATTERJEE, THOKCHOM MEINYA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 237 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12 th   DECEMBER, 2018

## POOR NETWORK CONNECTIVITY

237.   DR. KULAMANI SAMAL: SHRI J.J.T. NATTERJEE: DR. THOKCHOM MEINYA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has noticed that call drop phenomenon was common in all  networks  in  the  country  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  steps  taken  in  this regard;

(b) whether the Government has received numerous petitions/ representations about call drops;

- (c) if so, the details thereof, operator-wise and State-wise;
- (d) whether the call drops are common in BSNL networks;
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (f) whether the Government has any concrete action plan to improve the situation and if so, the details thereof; and
- (g) whether there is a gap between the norms laid down for quality services and the actual service provided and if so, the details thereof and reasons therefor, operator-wise and State-wise?

## ANSWER

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

(a) The call  drop  in  a  mobile  network  can  happen  due  to  many  reasons  including characteristics  of  radio  propagation  for  wireless  communications,  non-availability  of sites  due  to  acquisition  problems,  sealing  of  sites  by  local  authorities  due  to  fear  of Electro-Magnetic Fields (EMF) from mobile radiations etc. Therefore, the occurrence of call  drops  is  found  to  be  common  in  mobile  networks  across  the  world  with  varying degree of occurrences. Telecom Service Providers in India are required to ensure that the call-drop rate in their mobile networks remain within the benchmarks laid down by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

TRAI has issued 'The Standards for Quality of Service for Basic (Wireline) and Cellular  Mobile  Telephone  Services  (Fifth  Amendment)  Regulations,  2017'  effective from 1 st October 2017. These Regulations have prescribed two revised parameters for assessing call drop in mobile network, viz. Call drop-rate Spatial distribution measure (benchmark  ≤ 2%)  implies  that  at-least  90%  of  Cells  in  the  network  should  perform better  than  specified  2%  benchmark  on  at-least  90%  of  days.  Similarly,  another  new parameter,  Call  drop-rate  Temporal  distribution  measure  (benchmark  ≤ 3%)  will  give confidence that on at-least 90% of Days, network performed better than specified 3% benchmark for at-least 97% of the Cells.

(b) & (c) Service Area-wise total number of consumer complaints received in TRAI and DoT against Call Drops w.e.f. 01 st January, 2018 to 05 th December, 2018 are mentioned in Annexure- I & II respectively.

(d) & (e) BSNL  complies  to  both  the  Call-drop  rate  benchmarks  in  all  License Service Areas except West Bengal for the quarter ending in September, 2018.

Main  reasons  include  problems  due  to  hilly  terrain  in  Sikkim,  Darjeeling  and  isolated islands in Sunderbans (South 24 Parganas); frequent thefts of waveguide and battery bank  in  areas  particularly  in  Asansol,  Berhampur,  Kharagpur,  and  Kolkata  SSAs; frequent OFC cut in major routes; prolonged power outages as well as low voltage in most areas of West Bengal and LWE affected areas such as Bankura, Purulia & West Midnapore which results in difficulty in Operations & Maintenance (O&M) activity and fault restoration work.

(f) In order to address  call-drops, following steps have  been  taken  by  the Government/ TSPs:

(i) DoT has taken several policy intiatives to facilitate infrastructure growth for delivery of quality services. These include permitting trading/sharing/ liberalisation of spectrum already granted, permitting passive & active infrastructure-sharing, Notification of Right of Way Rules- 2016, making available government land/buildings for installations of towers etc.

(ii) About 9.74 lakh additional Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) for 2G/3G/4GLTE services  have  been  added  by  TSPs  since  July,  2015  across  the  country. The number of BTS installed has been significantly increased from about 7.94 lakh in March 2014 to about 20.07 lakh in November 2018. Moreover, about 9.59 lakh  2G/3G  Cells  have  been  rectified/  optimised  by  TSPs  during  July  2016  to October 2018.

(iii) In order to obtain direct feedback from subscribers, DoT has launched an Integrated Voice Response System (IVRS) wherein, around 2.15 crore subscribers have been individually contacted since December 2016, out of which 30.1  lakh  subscribers  have  participated  in  the  survey.  The  feedback  is  shared with the TSPs every week for taking corrective actions.

(g) As  per  TRAI  Report  for  the  quarter  ending  September  2018,  TSPs  are  mostly complying with benchmark for various parameters. The details of the non-compliance are given in Annexure -III.

## ANNEXURE -I

## Service Area wise total number of consumer complaints received in TRAI against Call Drop w.e.f. 01.01.2018 to 05.12.2018

| Sr   | Service Area     | Telecom Service Providers   | Telecom Service Providers   | Telecom Service Providers   | Telecom Service Providers   | Telecom Service Providers   | Telecom Service Providers   | Telecom Service Providers   | Telecom Service Providers   | Telecom Service Providers   | Total   |
|------|------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|---------|
| Sr   | Service Area     | Aircel                      | Airtel                      | BSNL                        | Idea                        | MTNL                        | TTSL                        | Telenor                     | Vodafone                    | Reliance Jio                |         |
| 1    | Andhra Pradesh   | 0                           | 27                          | 2                           | 2                           | 1                           | 0                           | 0                           | 3                           | 2                           | 37      |
| 2    | Assam            | 3                           | 8                           | 1                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 1                           | 13      |
| 3    | Bihar            | 0                           | 12                          | 0                           | 2                           | 0                           | 2                           | 1                           | 12                          | 3                           | 32      |
| 4    | Chennai          | 0                           | 8                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 1                           | 1                           | 10      |
| 5    | Delhi            | 1                           | 129                         | 0                           | 16                          | 5                           | 1                           | 0                           | 55                          | 13                          | 220     |
| 6    | Gujarat          | 0                           | 21                          | 6                           | 2                           | 0                           | 1                           | 0                           | 31                          | 6                           | 67      |
| 7    | Haryana          | 0                           | 10                          | 0                           | 6                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 5                           | 2                           | 23      |
| 8    | Himachal Pradesh | 0                           | 1                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 2                           | 3       |
| 9    | Jammu & Kashmir  | 0                           | 1                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 1       |
| 10   | Karnataka        | 0                           | 73                          | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 10                          | 6                           | 89      |
| 11   | Kerala           | 0                           | 5                           | 0                           | 4                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 5                           | 1                           | 15      |
| 12   | Kolkata          | 0                           | 16                          | 0                           | 2                           | 0                           | 1                           | 0                           | 24                          | 4                           | 47      |
| 13   | Madhya Pradesh   | 0                           | 18                          | 1                           | 12                          | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 1                           | 10                          | 42      |
| 14   | Maharashtra      | 0                           | 41                          | 2                           | 27                          | 0                           | 1                           | 0                           | 27                          | 3                           | 101     |
| 15   | Mumbai           | 0                           | 47                          | 0                           | 9                           | 11                          | 0                           | 0                           | 88                          | 8                           | 163     |
| 16   | North East       | 0                           | 1                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 1       |
| 17   | Orissa           | 0                           | 6                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 2                           | 8       |
| 18   | Punjab           | 0                           | 17                          | 0                           | 4                           | 0                           | 1                           | 0                           | 3                           | 4                           | 29      |
| 19   | Rajasthan        | 0                           | 24                          | 1                           | 1                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 1                           | 2                           | 29      |
| 20   | Tamil Nadu       | 1                           | 30                          | 0                           | 1                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 7                           | 7                           | 46      |
| 21   | UP - West        | 0                           | 17                          | 2                           | 4                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 1                           | 6                           | 30      |
| 22   | UP- East         | 2                           | 20                          | 1                           | 3                           | 0                           | 0                           | 1                           | 6                           | 6                           | 39      |
| 23   | West Bengal      | 0                           | 11                          | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 0                           | 10                          | 7                           | 28      |
|      | Total            | 7                           | 543                         | 16                          | 95                          | 17                          | 7                           | 2                           | 290                         | 96                          | 1073    |

## Service Area wise total number of consumer complaints received in Public Grievances Cell, DoT against Call drop/ improper Network coverage w.e.f. 01.01.2018 to 05.12.2018

|   Sr. No. | State Name                  |   Count of grievances |
|-----------|-----------------------------|-----------------------|
|         1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |                     4 |
|         2 | Andhra Pradesh              |                    21 |
|         3 | Arunachal Pradesh           |                     2 |
|         4 | Assam                       |                    27 |
|         5 | Bihar                       |                    68 |
|         6 | Chandigarh                  |                     7 |
|         7 | Chhattisgarh                |                    28 |
|         8 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli      |                     0 |
|         9 | Daman and Diu               |                     0 |
|        10 | Delhi                       |                   179 |
|        11 | Goa                         |                     1 |
|        12 | Gujarat                     |                    54 |
|        13 | Haryana                     |                    88 |
|        14 | Himachal Pradesh            |                     8 |
|        15 | Jammu & Kashmir             |                    13 |
|        16 | Jharkhand                   |                    29 |
|        17 | Karnataka                   |                   130 |
|        18 | Kerala                      |                    28 |
|        19 | Lakshadweep                 |                     0 |
|        20 | Madhya Pradesh              |                    18 |
|        21 | Maharashtra                 |                   165 |
|        22 | Manipur                     |                     0 |
|        23 | Meghalaya                   |                     2 |
|        24 | Mizoram                     |                     1 |
|        25 | Nagaland                    |                     0 |
|        26 | Odisha                      |                    70 |
|        27 | Puducherry                  |                     1 |
|        28 | Punjab                      |                    37 |
|        29 | Rajasthan                   |                    87 |
|        30 | Sikkim                      |                     0 |
|        31 | Tamil Nadu                  |                    60 |
|        32 | Telangana                   |                    28 |
|        33 | Tripura                     |                     2 |
|        34 | Uttar Pradesh               |                   280 |
|        35 | Uttarakhand                 |                    25 |
|        36 | West Bengal                 |                   106 |

## TSP-wise total number of consumer complaints received in Public Grievances Cell, DoT against Call drop/ improper Network coverage w.e.f. 01.01.2018 to 05.12.2018

|   Sr. | State Name    |   Count of grievances |
|-------|---------------|-----------------------|
|     1 | Bharti Airtel |                   482 |
|     2 | BSNL          |                   312 |
|     3 | Idea          |                   118 |
|     4 | Reliance Jio  |                   398 |
|     5 | Tata Tele     |                    13 |
|     6 | Vodafone      |                   203 |
|     7 | MTNL          |                    49 |

## Service Provider wise analysis of non-compliance against identified parameters related to Network Performance for quarter ending in September 2018

| Telecom Service Provider   | Parameter                                                                                                                                         | Bench- mark   | License Service Area   |   Performance |
|----------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|------------------------|---------------|
| BSNL                       | Network QoS DCR Spatial Distribution Measure [Network_ QSD(90,90)]                                                                                | ≤ 2%          | West Bengal            |          3.09 |
| BSNL                       | Network QoS DCR Temporal Distribution Measure [Network_ QTD(97,90)]                                                                               | ≤ 3%          | West Bengal            |          3.67 |
| BSNL                       | Point of Interconnection (POI) Congestion (No. of POIs not meeting the benchmark) (Averaged over a period of quarter )                            | ≤ 0.5%        | Rajasthan              |          1    |
| Idea                       | TCH, RAB and E-RAB Congestion (%age)                                                                                                              | ≤ 2%          | Madhya Pradesh         |          2.22 |
| Idea                       | TCH, RAB and E-RAB Congestion (%age)                                                                                                              | ≤ 2%          | UP-West                |          2.51 |
| Idea                       | Network QoS DCR Spatial Distribution Measure [Network_ QSD(90,90)]                                                                                | ≤ 2%          | Assam                  |          2.16 |
| Idea                       | Network QoS DCR Spatial Distribution Measure [Network_ QSD(90,90)]                                                                                | ≤ 2%          | Himachal Pradesh       |          2.24 |
| Idea                       | Network QoS DCR Spatial Distribution Measure [Network_ QSD(90,90)]                                                                                | ≤ 2%          | Jammu & Kashmir        |          2.16 |
| Idea                       | Network QoS DCR Spatial Distribution Measure [Network_ QSD(90,90)]                                                                                | ≤ 2%          | North East             |          2.22 |
|                            | Network QoS DCR Temporal Distribution Measure [Network_ QTD(97,90)]                                                                               | ≤ 3%          | Assam                  |          3.51 |
|                            | Network QoS DCR Temporal Distribution Measure [Network_ QTD(97,90)]                                                                               | ≤ 3%          | North East             |          3.39 |
|                            | Network QoS DCR Temporal Distribution Measure [Network_ QTD(97,90)]                                                                               | ≤ 3%          | North East             |         61.64 |
|                            | Network QoS DCR Temporal Distribution Measure [Network_ QTD(97,90)]                                                                               | ≤ 3%          | Rajasthan              |         99.97 |
| RJio                       | Point of Interconnection (POI) Congestion (No. of POIs not meeting the benchmark) (Averaged over a period of quarter )                            | ≤ 0.5%        | Rajasthan              |          1    |
| Vodafone                   | Call Set-up Success Rate and Session Establishment Success Rate for Circuit Switched Voice or VoLTE as applicable (within licensee's own network) | ≥ 95%         | UP-West                |         94.97 |
| Vodafone                   | TCH, RAB and E-RAB Congestion (%age)                                                                                                              | ≤ 2%          | UP-East                |          3.04 |
| Vodafone                   | TCH, RAB and E-RAB Congestion (%age)                                                                                                              | ≤ 2%          | UP-West                |          5    |

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