India telcos face stricter service quality rules
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has introduced potential updates to the 2024 Standards of Quality of Service for both wireline and wireless access and broadband services. Under the proposed revisions, providers would be required to offer more precise network coverage details, resolve billing disputes within seven days, and compensate users for service interruptions exceeding 24 hours.
State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has objected to the proposals, stating that added compliance and higher penalties would strain funds meant for rural and 4G expansion. BSNL said tighter compliance requirements and higher financial disincentives could add to pressures it already faces, making it harder to meet public-service obligations.
TRAI’s proposals include publishing more accurate coverage maps online, so users can gauge the expected signal in their area before choosing a plan. Billing disputes would have to be settled in seven days, against four weeks now. Silent calls, where a connection stays live but the audio drops, would face tighter limits.
A customer hit by an outage lasting more than 24 hours would be entitled to a bill rebate or extra validity on a prepaid plan. TRAI has also proposed a single Quality of Experience score, drawn from network performance, call quality, and customer service, to help users compare operators.
Penalties would rise for inaccurate compliance reports and other violations, going up to ₹10 lakh for repeated breaches. For 5G, operators would have to track network capacity more closely and inform TRAI at least 21 days before creating new network slices, which are virtual networks configured for specific uses.
BSNL told TRAI that every added obligation and more detailed reporting needs dedicated capital and recurring spending on systems to measure, monitor, and report. The operator cited its public-service role and its presence in remote, non-remunerative terrain where private players often do not deploy services.
Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea have opposed several proposals as technically difficult and operationally impractical. They said coverage maps rest on computer models and cannot always match actual signal, which shifts with weather, buildings, hills, and trees.
The operators also argued that some audio pauses are intentional and help networks save battery and manage capacity. Perceived muting can also originate in handsets, faulty microphones, app processing, or interconnecting networks, and not the operator’s radio network.
TRAI imposed financial disincentives of nearly ₹1.88 crore on four operators for violating quality of service norms in FY26, against ₹19 lakh in FY25. BSNL’s penalties were the highest at ₹89.5 lakh in FY26. Operators often challenge TRAI’s penalties before the appellate tribunal.
