New Delhi : Crashing data tariffs, free voice calls, disruptive entry of Reliance Jio and a no-holds-barred turf war to safeguard Rs 9 lakh crore worth of cumulative investments have set the tone for an action-packed 2017 for the telecom sector, which also had to grapple with the thorny issue of call drops this year.
If anything, the high-voltage narrative of 2016 has left mobile subscribers craving for more in the coming year both in terms of tariffs which have touched new lows, and technology. 4G has boosted mobile speeds to levels never experienced before by the data-hungry Indians, reports PTI.
“About Rs 9,27,000 crores have been invested so far by telecom service providers (TSPs) in building world class telecom infrastructure,” industry body COAI’s Director General Rajan S Mathews said. Incumbent telecom operators in representations throughout the year have shared how their revenues have taken a hit on various accounts ranging from Trai’s decision to bar differential tariff platforms like Facebook’s Free Basics, Airtel Zero, to Reliance Jio unveiling free services. Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP Partner Hemant Joshi said however that the prohibition on discriminatory tariffs has played a significant role to make data services affordable and accessible by everyone and is one of the important factors behind the rising adoption of data services in India.
The telecom regulator’s latest recommendation to allow third party platforms to provide free data without bias towards a particular telecom operator or internet content is likely to rekindle the debate on net neutrality in 2017.
Looking back, the going year started-off with a setback- of-sorts for consumers when the Supreme Court quashed penalty provision for call drops, prompting the regulator to seek more powers to penalise errant telecom
operators.
The Telecom Department and regulator launched a combined offensive — in form of review meetings and drive tests – to ensure that service quality issues remain at the forefront all through the year. To address the problem of call drops, operators have added about 3.51 lakh BTSes in last 12 months, according to Mathews. Besides this, Trai continues to work on review of service quality norms, ombudsman model, and interconnection all of which are expected to take shape in 2017.