Submit service quality reports for each state, Union territory: TRAI to telcos

Regulator Trai on Friday took serious note of complaints about call drops and quality of service issues and directed telecom service providers to file service quality reports for every state and Union territory.

Now telecom companies will have to report more detailed data that helps identify patchy networks and problem areas in advance.

In another move that would cheer telecom consumers, the regulator has released a draft regulation on the review of The Quality of Service (Code of Practice for Metering and Billing Accuracy) Regulations, 2023 and draft guidelines.

In a statement, Trai said the accuracy of metering and billing of telecom services is a key focus of the regulator to protect consumer interests.

Meanwhile, it has also “directed all telecom service providers to file Quality of Service (QoS) reports for each state and Union Territory (UT).”

Last week, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) held a review meeting on call drops with telcos, where it was clarified that players must also report data on call drops and outages at the state level.

Trai had also instructed companies to take immediate steps to “demonstrate visible improvement” in the quality of service and connectivity experience for consumers across the country.

At the latest meeting, the regulator said stricter service benchmarks are at stake when it comes to calling quality parameters, and that Trai will launch a consultation process in the coming months.

On Friday, Trai said that submitting a state and territory Union report for QoS parameters is essential for optimal analysis of the quality of service provided by telcos. From the March 2023 quarter, they must submit the data on a quarterly basis.

This will also assist the respective state/UT governments in facilitating service providers to improve QoS in the state/UT as and when required, it said.

“LSA (Licensed Service Area) sensible data, as currently submitted through various performance monitoring reports, will continue to be submitted on the schedule established by the regulation,” it added.

This means that data reported as of now will be more granular and detailed (for 29 states plus UTs) as opposed to the current practice of data being reported at the licensed service area level (22 total LSAs) and averaged on a quarterly basis.

Trai believes that state-level reporting will ensure that the problem areas and patchy networks in certain states, particularly in the Northeast, can be clearly identified and corrective action can be taken by players.

Currently, local problem areas are not as clearly visible on the radar because the data reporting structure is based on LSAs (in some cases a larger reporting area), which are too average.

While such detailed reporting (at the state level) will begin immediately, making it part of the QoS standards, and the imposition of financial barriers will take some time, Trai chairman PD Vaghela said last week.

Earlier this week, COAI, the agency of mobile operators, said reporting call drop data in the state raises several administrative and implementation issues, and that reporting should continue at the LSA level.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed)