Telecom Industry working to ensure high Network Quality in Maharashtra

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Punekar News's photo.COAI said that Quality of Service (QoS) standards for dropped calls of all Operators in Maharashtra is in conformity with the TRAI mandated QoS a per TRAI records.

COAI stated that the cumulative effort of the operators as regularly monitored by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), along with the Government’s support, has ensured sustenance of call quality standards in all key cities in the state, including Pune, Nasik and Nagpur. The industry body also highlighted that all mobile operators were working extensively to improve network quality in Maharashtra with investments to the tune of INR 1675 crore made in the past 11 months. Almost 8500 new cell sites have also been added in the period to facilitate better connectivity to the people. COAI added that the industry was doing everything possible to ensure the best possible service delivery to customers. Operators acknowledge there are areas, especially in dense urban areas, where call drops and call quality could be a problem.

COAI has highlighted several root causes for the problem areas, which relate principally to availability of cell sites. In spite of the challenges, the industry continues to undertake several measures, in order to address network quality issues. Telecom operators have been working towards improving network coverage and capacity enhancement through expediting capital investment, network optimization, expansion and roll-out of 3G networks to offload traffic from 2G network, additional sites coming online, etc. Special Drive Tests are being conducted by operators independently and along with the DoT and TRAI to analyse the reasons for the call drops and accordingly work towards network optimisation for enhancing quality of service for customers. The industry is also reaching out to customers, seeking their help to identify areas where they face call drops and their suggestions on setting up mobile cell-sites.

The telecom industry also highlighted the support required from each individual State, including Maharashtra. State Government’s must partner with the industry and implement the DoT’s Guidelines on tower infrastructure. These guidelines were framed by the DoT keeping in mind all the regional concerns of tower installation and after a consultation process with State authorities. The DoT Guidelines cover, among other things, the payment of a predetermined nominal administrative fee, which covers all administrative expenses, timely single-window clearance options for the approval of applications, ensuring availability of adequate resources like water and electricity supply which are needed to structure the effective and developed mobile infrastructure in the state.

Commenting on the call drops situation in Maharashtra, Mr. RajanS. Mat hews, Director General, COAI, said, “In the last one year, the telecom industry has made significant effort to bolster mobile telephone networks across the country. These investments have already started showing results as has been seen in key cities across Maharashtra. There are however, several other challenges facing operators, like unavailability of mobile towers being major impediments. Nevertheless, the industry will continue to work with all stakeholders and do whatever best can be done to bring down the rate of call drops across India.”

About COAI

COAI was constituted in 1995 as a registered, non-governmental society. COAI’s vision is to establish India as the global leader of innovative mobile communications infrastructure, products and services and achieving a national teledensity of 100%, including broadband. The association is also dedicated to the advancement of modern communication and towards delivering the benefits of innovative and affordable mobile communication services to the people of India.

www.coai.in