Most operators fail TRAI’s call-drop test in Hyderabad

NEW DELHI: India's telecom watchdog, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has found most telecom operators like Vodafone India and Telenor India in 2G networks and BSNL in 3G networks,  are failing to meet the benchmark for dropped calls in Hyderabad.

Telecom regulator said that 11 out of 14 networks" tested failed to meet call drop benchmark set under service quality norms.

"2G networks of Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, state-run BSNL, Tata Docomo and Telenor have set higher RLT (radio link time-out) values than other operators," said telecom regulator in its report on network drive tests.

RLT is one of the parameters which decides for how long the call should be sustained if the signal quality drops below a certain threshold.

The drive test found that leading telecom operators have set RLT values well above 40 level.

"Vodafone 2G and Telenor 2G would also exceed the benchmark if RLT (radio link time-out) of 40 is assumed. With RLT as 40, Call Drop Rate will increase to 2.2 percent for Vodafone 2G and 2.7 percent for Telenor," said TRAI.

The regulator said that call drop rates for Airtel and Docomo will also increase if RLT of 40 is considered, reported by PTI.

On the other hand,  BSNL was using RLT value higher than 40 at around 35 percent of its mobile sites but it did not encounter any scenario where the value was breached," said.

Hyderabad was second city where Vodafone has been found using RLT parameters more than its peer networks. Previously, the drive test was conducted in Delhi, where Vodafone and Aircel were found using such technology.

The drive test found three areas in Hyderabad - Banjara Hills, Secunderabad and Gandhamguda - accounting for about 60 percent of total dropped calls.

"On excluding the dropped calls in above mentioned areas, call drop rate benchmarks are met (or are close to 2 percent) for all operators," it further added.

"3G connection of Idea Cellular hooked on to its 2G network most of the time depriving benefit of high speed data to its subscribers," TRAI said.

"On its (Idea) 3G enabled SIM card, most idle time was spent on 2G network. Most calls were thus initiated on its 2G network. This aspect could be an issue for a 3G user who would not be able to avail 3G data service, for a major period," it added.

The test was conducted between 9am to 9pm from 5th to 7th of May , 2016, covering an area of 300 kilometre. A total of- 7450 calls were made for eight 2G networks, four 3G networks and two CDMA networks covering 9 operators