Bad signal? No coverage? Things may be about to get better

As part of their service obligations, telcos may soon be required to ensure actual, usable mobile coverage—particularly along highways, railway routes, and sparsely populated areas that frequently suffer from weak or no signal, two people in the know said.

“Presently, the telecom operators only have the obligation to put a certain number of towers in a certain region or circle. Though the government prescribes a percentage to the extent regions are to be covered, where to install towers is decided by telcos based on commercial considerations and service demand,” an official said, adding that the current minimum rollout obligations are not sufficient to provide decent coverage in critical areas.

The plan to tighten the service rollout obligation is currently under consideration, and any decision on the models will be taken after consultations, another official said. The official added that many countries have coverage obligations for telecom operators along specific routes and areas.

Spotty coverage

In recent drive tests conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), in areas of Jammu and Kashmir, the North East, Gangtok, and certain highways such as in Ladakh, telecom operators’ call connection success rates were found below the Trai benchmark.

“In some locations, the tests have measured 5G speeds for other TSPs (telecom service providers), while our own 5G rollout is currently underway in a phased manner aligned with market demands and 5G device penetration. Additionally, certain KPIs (key performance indicators) like call connection rate may be fractionally below benchmarks, but our ongoing 4G expansions and future 5G rollouts are addressing these gaps and enhancing both voice and data experience,” a Vodafone Idea spokesperson said in response to Mint’s queries last month.

Another executive at a telecom operator said it does not make sense for the operators to install towers in areas where there is less population and where financial viability is difficult. However, the executive added that the operators are meeting Trai’s quality of service obligations. Currently, the government provides viability-gap funding for tower and telecom infrastructure rollout in some far-flung areas.

Spectrum auctions

Currently, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the department of telecommunications (DoT) are working on the contours of the next spectrum auctions, including the spectrum reserve price and other terms and conditions.

“The work is on, but it may not come in the next spectrum auction as studies are yet to be conducted on how it will be done,” the second official added.

In May, DoT wrote to Trai seeking its recommendations for the next spectrum auction. The telecom department has asked Trai to provide recommendations on the applicable reserve price and quantum of spectrum in the frequency bands—800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz. The government also wants to bring in new bands, such as a portion of the 6 GHz band, for auction as well.

After giving auctions a miss in 2023, the government collected ₹11,340.78 crore—the third lowest since competitive bidding began in 2010–in the 2024 auction. The government had put up 10,523.2 MHz of spectrum worth ₹96,320 crore on sale, but managed to find buyers for just about 1.3% of the total radio frequencies on offer.