Service quality of telcos were below TRAI norms in Oct - Dec

On one hand where all telecom players are trying their level best to retain the users by launching new tariff plans every day, but on the other hand, their service qualities did not meet the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) the norms.

The latest report by telecom regulator operators said that Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea have received maximum billing complaints during October and December in 2016.

In the case of Airtel, most of the complaints are coming from 2G pre- paid subscribers in Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Kolkata, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, where the benchmark violation ranged between 0.11 per cent and 0.12 per cent while India's second largest telecom service provider, Vodafone was reported for its post-paid customers in Mumbai facing many problems, PTI reported.

BSNL plans to offer 4Mbps download speed: Reports

According to a quality of service norms, the complaint level should not be more than 0.1 per cent per 100 bills issued in one-quarter.

The regulator has already set a penalty of up to Rs 2 lakh for poor mobile service, including call drops. The penalty kicks in for more than 2 per cent call drops in a quarter in one telecom circle.

Recently Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha has also said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that, "whereas Aircel is not meeting the various parameters in 27 license areas, Reliance Communications in GSM services in 25 service areas and Airtel in 15 service areas."

He said, " In 2G services, MTNL is meeting all the parametrise except one pertaining to percentage requests for termination and closure of services complied within seven days (whether the set benchmark is 100 percent)."

Sinha further said that new entrant Reliance Jio has 94.28 per cent urban subscribers as on December 31, 2016. For Bharti, this number stood at 50.88 per cent, and in the case of Vodafone and Idea at 46.29 per cent and 45.23 per cent, respectively.

Sinha added an estimated 55,000 villages in the country do not have mobile coverage.

"The TRAI has the powers to fine the telecom operators- Aircel, Airtel, and RCom under the violation of terms and conditions, but the regulator is waiting for an order from the Division Bench of High Court of Tripura in favor of Union of India," Sinha further added.