Telcom firms being mindful of service quality in 5G rollout, says COAI

Industry body COAI has asserted that operators are mindful of adhering to service quality as they roll out 5G, but added that full benefits of seamless urban-rural connectivity of fifth-generation services will be gained once pan-India availability of these networks is achieved.

The speed of 5G rollout in India "is the fastest in the world", SP Kochhar, Director General of Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) said.

"When the rollout is taking place in a phased manner, that is, in urban areas first, followed by rural, and not in a heterogeneous manner - the overall benefits of 5G will take some time to arrive," Kochhar told PTI.

5G services, in locations rolled out already, are meeting the scientific parameters of ultra high-speed network.

"Wherever 5G is being rolled out, telecom operators are being very careful that they adhere to quality, as it is in their interest to do so, and the competition is so stiff that they don't want to lose out the business. So they will come out with the best quality, and that they are doing," Kocchar said.

5G services which promise turbocharged speeds far greater than 4G, and ultra low latency connectivity, have been rolled out in hundreds of cities in India by telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. According to Kochhar, while players are fully conscious of service quality, some ground realities have to be kept in mind.

"But a seamless connectivity experience spanning both urban and rural areas might take some time...till the time the entire country gets covered with 5G," he said.

Kochhar added: "Whether it is 4G or 5G there are terrains and obstacles, so obviously you cannot have same quality in all areas. Where there are no obstacles you get a better quality, where there are obstacles, the quality may take some time to pick up."

5G networks launched in October are up and running in many locations, and while the service quality norms for these new-age offerings are being worked out, curtailing call drops and improving consumer experience for telecom services in general have been under the government and regulator's constant focus.

The telecom department back in December met operators to discuss rising instances of call drops and service quality-related issues in existing services, as it deliberated on policy measures that can be considered for improving call quality.

Telecom regulator TRAI also called a meeting with telcos in February to discuss measures and action plan for improving service quality, review of norms, as also benchmarks for 5G services.