The vexatious issue of call drops is not dying down any time soon. Already the government through the Ministry of Communications and the TRAI have come down heavily on the cellular operators for their failure to provide quality services and creating the tower infrastructure to adequately handle the traffic on their networks.
The government has gone ahead and imposed a penalty also on the operators.
Now a virtual fight has broken out between two industry bodies representing the hardware manufacturers, The Indian Cellular Association (ICA) and the service providers, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).
COAI had recently told the government that while they are taking every step they can to provide the best services and connectivity throughout their respective circles, the handset manufacturers should be the ones to be blamed for the call drops.
Their contention is that there is no regulation in place to check if the handsets being sold in the market have been properly tested before they are sold to the customers. There has been a particular reference to the dual SIM LTE handsets which may be having issues.
But now the ICA has retorted saying COAI’s allegations are completely unfounded. In their communication repudiating the charges made by the COAI, the ICA claims that the sector is already over-regulated in India. Bringing in more regulations, as demanded by the service providers will only cripple the industry further.
According to the ICA, their handsets meet with all mandatory specifications and they are tested as per the norms and practices followed internationally. Introducing one more test or check in India is not going to be of any purpose, according to ICA. It is to be noted that this body counts in its membership, top handset firms like Samsung, LG and even Apple. ICA also feels it is the lack of adequate infrastructure, read towers, that is responsible for the call drops. One has not heard the last on the subject yet.