What are the directions issued by India's telecom regulator to capture data on network outages? Every telecom operator in India will now have to report all incidents of a major network outage that affect telecom services in a district continuously for more than four hours, as per directions issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The incidents will have to be reported to TRAI within 24 hours of their occurrence in a format specified by the telecom regulator, according to the press release, adding that the directions will come into force immediately. The release added that the telcos will have to report the root cause, along with the corrective measures, of these outages to TRAI within 72 hours of the restoration of services. [caption id="attachment_181748" align="alignnone" width="880"] A template of the form to be used by the telcos[/caption] Why it matters: It is important to note these directions as they will help keep telcos in check by ensuring that they do not ignore the quality of telecom services as they focus on rolling out 5G services. Moreover, it is critical to address the problem of network outages, especially in rural areas, as access to the internet is an indispensable part of our daily lives now. Why were these directions issued: It was observed by TRAI that telcos were not reporting “incidences of major network outage...occurring due to technical reasons or due to natural calamities”. It reasoned that these outages, particularly the ones with prolonged duration, adversely affect the…
