Penalty For Call Drops: Centre Imposes Rs 58 Lakh Fine On Mobile Service Providers Over Poor Quality

To reduce call drops, Government of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 58 lakh on service providers that include Idea and BSNL, Union Minister Manoj Sinha told the Rajya Sabha on Friday (January 4).

Answering during Question Hour, the minister said BSNL was slapped with a penalty of Rs 400,000 while Idea had to pay up Rs 12 lakh in the June quarter, he added.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has set certain benchmarks that addresses concerns regarding call drop rate. The minister provided the information about the financial disincentives that the body had set. In the March quarter, Rs 300,000 had to be paid by BSNL, Rs 10.5 lakh by Idea, Rs 600,000 by Telenor and Rs 22.5 lakh by Tata, Business Standard reported.

From 800,000 in 2014, the BTS count has increased to 20 lakh in 2018. This is because of improving telecommunication infrastructure. To get feedback from customers who are dissatisfied about call drops, the government has launched Integral Voice Response System (IVRS).

People opposing mobile towers due to alleged radiation harming their health is one of the main reasons why there is a slight lag in infrastructure being built. He said that his ministry was putting in efforts to ensure telecommunication is improved in India.