Ravi Shankar Prasad's advice to telcos: Add customers, but also care about them

Asking mobile operators to address the problem of call drops, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said government doesn't appreciate when they just add customers but do not look after their convenience.

"I don't appreciate the condition wherein operators just add customers and not care about their convenience," Prasad told reporters here during a BSNL function.

It is the operators' responsibility to worry about consumers' interests, he added.

"I have said this earlier also and now repeating that operators should improve their network, invest in network and also optimise the network," he said.

The problem of call drops has worsened in the recent months. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also voiced serious concern recently over call drops and directed officials to resolve the problem urgently.

Telecom operators have cited shutting down of mobile towers due to radiation fears, as also lack of spectrum, as the major reasons for call drops.

They have said that about 7,000-10,000 sites have been locked or shut down across major cities and have sought a uniform national policy for installation of mobile towers.

Prasad said, on the policy front, the Department of Telecom has been very proactive in addressing telcos issues as it is allowing installation of mobile towers on government buildings and writing to chief ministers to permit use of state buildings.

A recent TRAI report found that most of the telecom operators in Delhi and Mumbai were not meeting the prescribed standards regarding call drops.