DoT Secy, unhappy over call drops, to take strong steps if situation doesn't improve

Representataive Image

Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan on Thursday expressed strong displeasure over the state of call drops in the country and said the government wouldn't shy of taking stronger measures against the errant companies if the situation doesn't improve.

"Call drops remain an issue. We had issued them (mobile services providers) strong warnings. They need to improve their infrastructure. It's a big matter of concern for the government. If the situation doesn't improve, stronger measures are called for and we will take those," she told Moneycontrol on the sidelines of a conference in Bengaluru.

The conference was organised by telecom regulator to discuss implementation strategies for interoperability of WiFi systems.

Sundararajan expressed deep anguish that despite the best efforts of Department of Telecommunications and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the call drop situation has not improved and agreed with the idea that it has worsened at many places. She said the companies needed to do more to check the problem.

Call drops have occupied the authorities' mindspace for the 4-5 years, with the situation reaching alarming levels in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Mobile companies often blame the civic authorities for not giving them or delaying the due permissions to install the necessary towers.

In recent times, owing to health concerns due to radiation from towers, resident welfare associations have also driven out the companies and not allowed installation of equipment on their premises, further accentuating the problem.