Can Narendra Modi's intervention stop the call drop menace?

The consumer dissatisfaction over rising call drops has found a powerful and persuasive voice with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also joining the chorus against the telecom industry’s failure to address the problem. A blame game has begun with telecom operators complaining about the inadequacy of spectrum allocated to them despite the ever-increasing user base. They also cite the regulations that have forced them to dismantle mobile towers in many cities over worries of high radiation levels. The telecom ministry has hit back saying operators were not investing adequately in improving telecom infrastructure and were devoting more spectrum to data, the new growth area for revenues, rather than to voice calls, and this – in turn – has affected call quality. While the statistics furnished by the operators to the telecom regulator, TRAI, shows that call drops have not exceeded the permissible limit, there are doubts that call drops are not being properly logged at the operator’s end. For example, a caller who finds the line going inaudible in between a call would be experiencing a call drop and poor call quality, but the shortcoming may not be getting registered at the operator’s end.

The telecom service providers’ gripe about inadequate spectrum allocation is unlikely to end any time soon. There is some truth to their demands, but ever since the 2G spectrum scam, the telecom department has been proceeding rather cautiously. This hesitation to push big-bang policy changes has also continued into the NDA government’s tenure. In the spectrum auctions in March, the government amassed Rs1.1 lakh crore in revenues, but telecom operators complained that the government was driving up bid prices by auctioning only limited chunks of the unused spectrum in its possession. It is estimated that over 400 MHz of spectrum are lying unused with various public entities like the Armed Forces, Doordarshan and ISRO. Indian telecos have to function with an average spectrum holding of 12-15 MHz, which is far below the global average of 40-45 MHz. This is despite India having the world’s second largest subscriber base of 969 million users and the second highest average monthly minutes of usage per subscriber at 383 minutes.

If the available resources are not harnessed properly, these statistics indicate the potential for network congestion and obstructions to further growth. The current monthly data usage per subscriber, at 99.56 MB, pales before the global average. But with growing smartphone acquisition, there is immense scope for more data usage if tariffs drop and browsing speeds improve. The call drop crisis provides an expedient opportunity to scientifically assess the dangers posed by mobile towers. While nearly 10,000 towers have been reportedly dismantled to satisfy the public outcry, experts also point out that as the distance between towers increase, it reduces signal strength and increases the radiation emitted by handsets. This radiation from handsets, these experts say, is far more harmful than the radiation from towers. Last week’s decision to approve spectrum sharing is a big step forward in addressing congestion. For long, the government has resisted it, fearing that this would promote cartelisation and act as a disincentive for operators to competitively bid for spectrum. Alongside offering more spectrum, the government should ensure that statistics on geographical coverage, call quality, and broadband speeds are publicised to help consumers make informed decisions on operator selection. Telecom operators have opposed net neutrality and want to charge customers for internet telephony on the ground that this will help provide better quality of service. Their failure to address call drops, despite customers paying for voice calls, blunts this argument.