Gaining From Dropped Calls

[Arun 795]

DNA India

Monday, June 22, 2009 1:32 IST

According to sources in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), an alarming jump in 'dropped calls' by mobile subscribers has led two mobile service providers to gain Rs900 crore and Rs800 crore respectively. This undue gain has gone unnoticed by the public and authorities because consumers are unaware of the implications of dropped calls and the authorities find themselves powerless in the absence of rules to rein in the recalcitrant service providers.

A 'dropped call' is one in which the caller or receiver suddenly go offline in the middle of a call. The causes for this phenomenon are failure at the transmission tower of the service provider or excessive congestion on the tower. People who travel from one place to another often experience dropped calls because the seamless transfer of the call from one tower to another is hampered because of congestion.

Dropped calls can now be very accurately measured by scientific methods available all over the world and installed by some of the more conscientious mobile service providers in India.

It is only by the use of this technology that TRAI has been able to gauge the extent of dropped calls which is as high as 9% to 11% for the two erring providers mentioned above. This undue gain of the cell operators at the cost of the average consumer has the making of a scam, which is worth delving deeper into.

It is significant to note that call rates are in pulses of one minute in India and a call which is dropped either in the first minute itself (which is very common) or in the midst of a conversation, results in a fresh call being made, starting a fresh billing cycle. It has been worked out that in such circumstances, most subscribers will end up paying for an additional minute.

There is thus no alternative for TRAI but to come down heavily on such mischief which heavily benefits the mobile service companies. The service providers must be mandated to install the device which tracks call drops and these must be reported to TRAI. Heavy penalties must be levied on companies whose call drop rate exceeds, say 2% (it is internationally accepted that in certain circumstances a call drop may occur for unknown reasons).

Consumers must have a column in their bills mentioning the number of calls dropped in a billing cycle and in case this exceeds a certain norm, be entitled to a refund which is twice the call rate as per their respective plans.

Lastly, any excess amount arising from such undue billing should be credited to a Consumer Welfare Fund under the TRAI. Another solution is that TRAI insists for call rates to be offered in seconds rather than in minutes. Call drops will still continue to irritate, but at least nobody will enrich himself at the expense of the consumer.

[savramesh 37]

if my call drop history is available with reliance and they plan to refund, then i will get a good amount

call rates in seconds welcome , but what happens to termination charges ?

[tanveer 59]

Why only two operators? I think all of them indulge in this isnt it?

[aviator 3]

Why only two operators? I think all of them indulge in this isnt it?

Tata is definately the leader in this!

Telling ya man, TATA is the biggest cause of 'Hello, Hello' problem.

Digital network.............i don't think they even have analog one............lol

[KumaarShah 143]

I think the 2 operators must be Airtel and Voda. RCOM may not have dropped calls to the extent of the TRAI figures... But then, one never knows with RCOM - anything is possible...

[ravi_patent 28]

^

u r right kumaar,bcoz it was airtel and voda the report doesnt divulge the names..