BSNL, Jio, Vi, Airtel users: New telecom rules coming from October 1 to improve service quality

All phone users use SIM cards for calling and surfing the internet. India has four major telecom operators: Jio, Airtel, Vi, and BSNL. Yet, since a long time, telecom users within the country have plagued with poor quality of service and unsolicited spam messages, which comprised links to fake websites. Also, advancement from 2G to 5G technology has been seen by users, but they do not know what kind of network is available in their area. But starting from October 1, rules set to be brought into play by India’s telecom regulatory authority, TRAI promises to change the game for Indian telecom. Here are all the details you need to know.

Technology wise mobile coverage

The same company offers various networks technologies, and one network technology cannot always be available from one area to another. Network coverage may depend on the place, and sometimes you might find different networks technologies in other places. Hence, selecting a network operator becomes a cautious job.

Following such an order from TRAI, all the telecom operators have to provide information regarding the availability of network technology on their websites. This very much comes handy for users as they can check and identify what available network technology is accessible in their locations. For instance, from October 1 onwards, if you want to find out whether the 5G network provided by Jio is available in your area, you can do this just by accessing the website of the respective company and by providing your location so as to retrieve the necessary information.

Whitelist for SMS

Mobile phone users will see only approved links in SMS. Telecom regulator TRAI has asked telecom operators not to transmit unapproved links and ensure whitelisted. A whitelisted link is nothing but sending a pure whitelisted link and no unapproved link at all in any form. For example, if you receive an SMS that shows the link of details regarding an investment plan or scheme, earlier the link could have led you to an unknown source with a risk of financial loss or breach of your privacy by malicious elements. This risk is likely to come down with new rules and regulations to be implemented.

These regulations are supposed to be implemented on 1st September, but have now been extended a month, to 1st October, for telecommunication operators to implement.

Quality of Service Report

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has updated the standards for quality of service, both for wireless as well as wireline services. Here, the regulatory body has mandated the quarterly and monthly publication of QoS performance of telecom operators. Telecommunication companies will be mandated to post their network availability, call drop rate, and voice packet drop rate on their websites every quarter, as well as every month, starting April next year. Besides, the authority will assess the performance of each cell in the specific parameters.

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