The government's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), responsible for regulating the domestic telecom industry, said on Tuesday that they are taking collaborative steps to enhance user experience in terms of telecom services. Stating that several measures have already been initiated in this regard to ensure spam-free, quality telecom services with high-speed data flow, the ministry said it will gradually tighten benchmarks for key parameters like network availability, call drop rates, and packet drop rates. 

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To curb the menace of spam calls, the telecom regulator has directed telecom operators to disconnect and blacklist entities using bulk connections for spam calls, including robocalls and pre-recorded calls.

In the last fortnight, more than 3.5 lakh such numbers have been disconnected and 50 entities have been blacklisted, and around 3.5 Lakh unused or unverified SMS headers and 12 Lakh content templates blocked, the ministry said. 

The telecom department launched a citizen-centric platform, Sanchar Saathi, to fight cyber fraud, enabling citizens to report suspicious calls and messages.

Till date, more than one crore fraudulent mobile connections disconnected with the help of Sanchar Saathi. Also, as many as 2.27 lakh mobile handsets have been blocked for involvement in cybercrime or financial fraud, the statement added. 

In parallel, with an objective of improving the network performance, benchmarks are to be gradually tightened for key network parameters like network availability, call drop rates, packet drop rates, etc.

Also, the authorities said that the revised telecom regulations under the Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wirelines and Wireless) and Broadband (Wireline and Wireless) Service Regulations, 2024 (6 of 2024) will will come into effect from October 1, 2024.

From April 1, 2025, a monthly monitoring of QoS performance of mobile service will be started instead of a quarterly basis.

The communications ministry shared the revised QoS benchmarks of a few important parameters under the new regulations, as follows: 

Parameter Benchmark and Schedule for Reporting (Quarterly/Monthly)
Cumulative Down Time ( % age of Cells not Available for the service for more than 1 Hr at a time)
≤2%                    Quarterly w.e.f.:                          QE Oct-Dec 2024
≤2%                    Monthly w.e.f:                              April 2025
≤1.5% / ≤1%    Intermediate Milestones:      Oct 2025/Oct 2026
Worst Affected Cells due to Down (%age of Cells down more than 24 Hrs in a Month)
Time  ≤2%                    Quarterly w.e.f.:                          QE Oct-Dec 2024
  ≤2%                    Monthly w.e.f:                               April 2025
  ≤1.5%/≤1%     Intermediate Milestones:        Oct 2025/Oct 2026
Drop Call Rate (DCR) for 2G and 3G  
≤2% percentile basis for whole network
Quarterly w.e.f.:                         QE Oct-Dec 2024
(for 88% of cells on 88% of reporting days)
Monthly w.e.f:                           April 2025
( for 88% of cells on 88% of reporting  days)
Intermediate Milestones:       April 2026/April 2027
( for 89% of cells on 89% of reporting  days/ for 90% of cells on 90% of reporting  days)
 
Drop Call Rate (DCR) for 4G and 5G (Packet Switched) ≤2% percentile basis for whole network
Quarterly w.e.f.:                          QE Oct-Dec 2024
(for 92% of cells on 92% of reporting days)
Monthly w.e.f:                              April 2025
( for 92% of cells on 92% of reporting  days)
Intermediate Milestones:       Oct 2025/Apr 2026/April 2027
( for 93% of cells on 93% of reporting  days/ for 94% of cells on 94% of reporting  days/for 95% of cells on 54% of reporting  days)
Downlink Packet Drop (DLPD) ≤2% percentile basis for whole network
Uplink Packet Drop (UPPD)  
  Quarterly w.e.f.:                        QE Oct-Dec 2024
  (for 88% of cells on 88% of reporting days)
  Monthly w.e.f:                            April 2025
  ( for 88% of cells on 88% of reporting  days)
  Intermediate Milestones:      Apr 2026/April 2027
  ( for 89% of cells on 89% of reporting  days/for 90% of cells on 90% of reporting  days)
Latency ( 4G & 5G Network) ≤75 msec Quarterly w.e.f.:                               QE Oct-Dec 2024
≤75 msec  Monthly w.e.f:                                 April 2025
≤50 msec Intermediate Milestones:         April 2026
Packet Drop rate (In 4G & 5G Network) ≤3% Quarterly w.e.f.:                        QE Oct-Dec 2024
≤3% Monthly w.e.f:                            April 2025
≤2% Intermediate Milestones:      April 2026

The telecom regulator also issued consultation papers on provisions of immediate suspension of services of unregistered telemarketers on receipt of complaints beyond a pre-defined threshold number, and implementation of proactive detection and action on suspected spammers.

The telecom regulator and the telecom department have been engaged continuously towards enhancing telecom services and security in the country, through policies, ensuring infrastructure development, quality of service, and complaint redressal.