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India’s 5G services are expected to see strict benchmarks for call disruptions and interruptions in video streaming and calling, along with other critical metrics, in the forthcoming telecom regulations.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), having concluded consultations with telecom operators on this matter, is expected to announce the regulations governing the quality of 5G services within the next two months. The telecom regulator will also revise the current quality standards for 4G services, according to a report in the Financial Express.
This holds importance considering that telecommunication companies have onboarded nearly 200 million users to their 5G networks within 18 months of their launch. Presently there are no standards established to check the performance and network quality of 5G.
Currently, 5G users encounter various challenges including poor call quality, call drops, call muting, inability to connect to 5G despite activating phone settings, and negligible disparity in speeds.
The report quoted an official as saying, “We are looking at certain benchmarks against which we will measure issues related to voice calls such as call drops, lag in calls, unclear voice, etc.”
The official added that the issues are arising because of packet drops and the same needs to be strengthened.
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Packet dropping refers to the loss of small data units transmitted from a specific source to a destination across a network. This issue significantly impacts the network’s overall performance. In certain instances, the received packets experience delays, thereby impairing their quality.
Trai to introduce jitters monitoring
The Trai will incorporate jitters into its parameters for the first time, enabling the monitoring of data flow fluctuations. The regulator said this parameter is important for time-critical applications such as video calls and high-quality video streaming, the report stated.
According to the draft regulations, the Trai aims to implement an average latency of under 100 milliseconds for both 4G and 5G networks over a one-month period. Additionally, it said jitters should be under 50 milliseconds and the call drop rate should be below 2 per cent, with a more detailed approach. Currently, the latency benchmark stands at under 250 milliseconds.
In the draft, the regulator has modified the compliance mechanism for telcos, shifting from a quarterly reporting basis to a monthly one.
If telecom operators fail to meet the forthcoming benchmarks for 4G and 5G, they may face penalties of up to Rs 3,00,000 per benchmark. Additionally, in the event of inaccurate reporting, the penalty on telcos could reach up to Rs 10,00,000 per benchmark, the report said.
Telcos oppose Trai’s new norms
However, telecom operators do not align with Trai’s position regarding the new parameters for 5G. “Withdrawal of 5G-related parameters from the reporting format will allow organic development of customised use cases and extension of the services,” the report cited Jio saying in its representations to Trai. The telecom operator added that there is no need for a massive overhaul of quality of services regulation.
Telcos have additionally stated that service quality issues arise from inadequate hardware performance. They have further appealed to Trai not to transition from quarterly to monthly data reporting.
“There are many other external factors, too, outside of tunnel setup protocols (TSPs), such as illegal repeaters, boosters and jammers causing interference in the TSP network, right of way (RoW) issues, municipal issues leading to the sealing of sites, a very skewed and stricter policy on EMF (electromagnetic field) norms that shrink the coverage area, operational sites getting frequently sealed/shut down in many states or in localities due to fear of EMF,” Airtel told Trai.
