Delayed approvals, illegal band use causing call drop: COAI

Telecom companies have dismissed reports that call drops are due to low infrastructure, saying that they have invested Rs 1.34 lakh crore, which is far more than China's investment.Telecom companies have also complained that delays in approvals and sanctions for telecom towers are also leading to call drops. Speaking at an event on Monday, Himanshu Kapania, Chairman of the Cellulars Operators Association and MD and CEO of Idea Cellular made a pitch for a common national tower policy.He also added that there was a need to check illegal use of spectrum if the call drop menace needs to be done away with. Meanwhile, Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO - India and South Asia, Bharti Airtel says “there is this misplaced notion that operators are benefiting by charging and orchestrating call drops to earn more money. “Any operator who does that will lose his equity with customers and there is no money to be made because 90-95 percent of the plans are second base plans,” he adds.