What's the news? The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed telecom companies to take “urgent steps” to improve upon their quality of service (QoS) parameters, including the quality of user experience, according to a statement put out by the regulator. The directions were issued following a meeting with telcos on February 17, 2023, to discuss quality of service (QoS) improvements, review of QoS standards, QoS of 5G services and "unsolicited commercial communications”, as per TRAI’s press release on February 2, 2023. Why it matters: These directions may help keep the telcos in check by ensuring that they do not compromise on quality of telecom services. Moreover, an improvement in quality parameters is likely to benefit users, especially in rural areas. The directions on spam are crucial given the proliferation of spam in the country despite measures taken by TRAI. What are the directions? Addressing call quality issues: TRAI has asked the telcos to analyse the issue of call muting and one way speech (where you can hear the receiver but they cannot hear you), the release said. It has asked the telcos to prioritise taking measures addressing these issues. Rolling out 5G services: The regulator has asked the telcos to ensure that the quality of existing telecom services is not disturbed or degraded in the process of rolling out 5G. The directions have come at a time when most telcos are in the middle of rolling out 5G services across the country and are hoping to cover most regions…
