Call drops have gone up signficantly in India. The telecom operators in the country have been warned by the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) and the government to resolve it. To a certain extent, telcos have solved it, but it still remains there. There are still some instances where calls drop, and it has only become common since the arrival of 5G. When it was 4G, it was fine. When 5G came, and the data users started jumping on 5G networks to get high-speed internet access, they lost something which they had with 4G, a great call experience.
With 5G, while the data layer is on 5G, for calls, the phone falls back on the 4G network. Jio has solved it with the VoNR (voice over new radio) rollout throughout India. However, it is still not very optimised, and not present everywhere, because 5G is not present everywhere. The telcos are continously optimising 5G networks for a better reach and a more stable connection, but it still keeps switching between 4G and 5G.
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5G is Just a Marketing Gimmick?
5G was supposed to bring a better future for the consumers. It wasn't just about faster networks, but new technologies that 5G could enable, and a better connected world with more security. However, for now, consumers have only seen 5G in mobile phones in real world usage, but it still doesn't offer a better future that was promised the consumers.
TRAI reports suggest that the consumers are not happy with the call experience they are getting. Call drop complaints across India have gone up since the arrival of 5G. Even the Quality of Service (QoS) reports show that multiple circles have failed in meeting benchmarks for call drop rates, particularly in the peak hours.
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What Telcos Won't Tell You?
Telcos will never admit this, but they likely don't care as much about your call experience as much as they care about the data experience. The data is what brings them money. So their first priority is and likely always will be to improve data experience of the consumers. The industry is more focused on a better data experience than a clear call experience, which makes sense as well. Otherwise the call drop issue would have been resolved to most extent in the last few years.
Data allows users to make calls via internet apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and more. So in the calling front, users are still sorted. The wait for a seamless call experience is likely still in a distant future for the consumers of India.
