If you are a mobile phone user, especially in metros such as Delhi or Mumbai, you may already know what a call drop is. And the odds are it happens for almost every call you make through your cell phone.
In the recent months, the situation has worsened with the government and the service providers being flooded with complaints from the customers, some of them being senior Parliamentarians. The problem has, in fact, become the centre of a blame game between the government and the telecom firms.
The top telcos have expressed helplessness in dealing with the problems of call drops and poor network quality, warning that the situation may deteriorate further if the government does not support expansion of mobile tower infrastructure and increasing spectrum holding.
The government on its part has rejected the argument of the telecom firms, saying that these ‘excuses’ cannot be used as an ‘alibi for inaction’. The Telecom Department has stressed that the operators are not investing enough in upgrading networks, which in turn is leading to poor service quality.
Tower troubles
The towers or cell sites help radio waves travel better and are critical for facilitating wireless communication. There are close to 4,00,000 telecom towers in India at present and telecom service providers reckon another 1,00,000 are needed in the next 24 months to improve services.
While operators cite a number of reasons for call drops, the principal among them being inadequate mobile towers. This is impacting services in areas such as Chandigarh, Delhi NCR, Jaipur, Bhopal, Patna, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and North-East, according to the telecos.
In Delhi, Ridge Road, IGI Airport, Jail Road in west Delhi, JNU Campus, Lodhi Road, Delhi Gate and Govindpuri are some of the areas where the problem is severe. “Roadblocks in installation of cell sites and arbitrary shutting down of operational ones is leading to network congestion and spotty coverage… The reasons vary from State bodies’ actions against towers without prior notices; restrictions imposed by municipalities coupled with sealing orders being issued; power supply issues; difficulties in getting clearances for installing sites; non-renewal of lease due to reasons such as EMF-related misconceptions to fibre cuts due to other infrastructure projects,” the industry has said.
The government, on the other hand, is of the view that these issues with local bodies and fear over radiation are not new and they have existed since the telecom revolution in the country began. However, the problem of poor network and frequent call drops has escalated in the past seven months. “Operators cannot escape their responsibility of meeting quality standards. It is their basic service obligation… the projected acute shortage of towers can not be accepted as the reason for call drops and the same has been conveyed to them,” Telecom Secretary had said post meeting with operators on the issue. While the government has rejected claims that lack of towers is solely responsible for poor service quality, it accepts that there is a problem.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, on many occasions, has dismissed the ‘campaign on radiation’, saying radiation rules implemented in India are 10 times more stringent than international standards. “The WHO has referred 25,000 studies till date. Current evidence does not confirm existence of any health consequence from exposure to EMF radiation,” the Minister had said.
Further, stating that most of the communication happens inside buildings, the government is pushing for encouraging in-building solutions. The minister has also proposed for allowing cell sites installation on government buildings, which has received in-principle approval.
The industry is witnessing a technological shift wherein spectrum is being used more for data services as compare to voice. While data demand is exploding the rollout of date efficient networks - 3G and 4G - has not been up to the mark. As a result, in India, most of the data is still accessed using 2G network which is best suited for voice.
The government has stressed that the telecos are looking to switch to newer technologies such as 4G and hence are investing there, while slowing down investments in current technologies such as 2G, which is the main reason behind poor quality of service. The industry needs to invest in upgrading equipment for running current technologies and in optimisation of network. While the industry claims it has invested over Rs. 1,34,000 crore on development of networks in 2014-15, the government has pointed out if expenditure on spectrum is set aside, operators have invested only about 13 per cent of their revenue on reinforcement of infrastructure.
