The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is planning to introduce a new set of 'service quality benchmarks', non-adherence to which may lead to stricter penal action against the mobile operators. These parameters are likely to be announced by end-May 2015.

Recently, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) met with telecom operators, directing them to
to immediately address customer grievances and improve network coverage. The meeting was held in light of rise in number of consumer complaints about call drops and inflated bills, among others.

TRAI has already defined various quality-of-service benchmarks that telecom operators need to adhere to while providing service to consumers. These include benchmarks for call drops, billing, complaint redressal time and time taken to attend customer calls, among others. The service providers are penalised up to Rs 1 million for each parameter furnished incorrectly in the report submitted to the regulator.