Analysis of telecom network performance in seven key cities including Mumbai and Delhi following the drive test organized by TRAI shows near zero improvement in voice quality.
TRAI in association with independent research companies have conducted the test drive in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Surat, Bhubaneswar and Indore to assess the network condition more specifically in terms of Radio Frequency (RF)Coverage; Rx Quality; Call setup success rate; call drop rate, voice quality; blocked call and Carrier to Interference ratio.
Telecoms tracked by TRAI include: Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, BSNL, Vodafone, Reliance Communications, Aircel, Tata Docomo, MTNL, etc.
Mumbai
As per the drive test report, the coverage along the selected route of some of the operators has improved during this period and results for most of the operators were found to be satisfactory.
None of the operators have shown improvement in QoS benchmark for blocked call rate.
None of the operators are meeting the prescribed benchmark for retainability, the ability of a service, once obtained, to continue to be provided under given conditions for a requested duration.
Only CDMA operators have met the benchmarks prescribed by TRAI for voice quality.
Kolkata
Most of the operators have shown improvement in QoS benchmark for blocked call rate.
Only CDMA operators are meeting the prescribed benchmark for Retainability.
Pune
The telecom network coverage for most of the operators have not improved.
None of the operators have shown improvement in accessibility.
None of the operators have shown improvements in retainability.
None of the telecom network operators are meeting the prescribed benchmark, and there is deterioration in voice quality.
Delhi
As per the drive test report, the coverage for most of the mobile operators improved.
Some of the operators have shown improvement in accessibility.
Some of the operators have shown improvements in retainability.
Except MTNL 3G, none of the mobile operators are meeting the prescribed benchmark for voice quality, said TRAI on Thursday.
Meanwhile, IANS reported the random test drive for call drops by the Indian telecom regulator shows that most of the telecom service providers (TSP) are not meeting the prescribed benchmark.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has laid down the quality of services benchmarks for call drop rate to be less than 2 percent. Most telecom operators missed this benchmark.
The regulator conducted drive tests during December-January period. Tests were conducted on both 2G and 3G networks of service providers, including state-run MTNL and BSNL.
During December 2015-January 2016 drive tests were repeated in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Surat and Bhubaneswar and in addition drive tests were also carried out in Indore.
“In all the cities drive tests were carried out earlier, the same route was followed during the latest drive (around 300 km). For Delhi and Mumbai, the route length was increased to 600 Km after taking inputs from the TSPs about the additional route. In other cities also, the route has been increased wherever possible,” the report said.
In Pune, the regulator said, none of the operators has shown improvements. The highest rate of call drops was shown by Tata 3G at 42.93 percent, followed by Idea 3G 20.96 percent, BSNL 3G 11.64 percent and Airtel 3G 7.91 percent.
In Bhubaneswar, all the operators have failed to meet the benchmark.
In Delhi, the regulator said some of the operators had shown improvements. The operators who complied with the benchmark are – Airtel 2G, 3G, Idea 2G, 3G and Vodafone 3G.
In Kolkata, CDMA network of MTS, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications were compliant to call drop benchmark.
In Mumbai, the regulator said results for most of the operators were found to be satisfactory.
In Surat, TRAI said none of the operators were meeting the prescribed benchmark, though there was a marginal improvement in voice quality for some operators.
Regarding Indore, the regulator said some of the operators were meeting the prescribed benchmark.
