Amid 5G rollout by major telecom players – Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio – 49 percent subscribers have reported faster data experience but only 16 percent said there was any improvement at all in connectivity and call drop issues. A survey showed that even as these companies are racing to set up 5G infrastructure across India, there is no end to problems like call drop, poor mobile and internet connectivity, call disruption, cross connection among others.
According to the survey, conducted by community social media platform LocalCircles, 42 percent 5G subscribers reported no improvement while only 19 percent said there was deterioration in connectivity or drop issues after a move to 5G. The survey further stated that 31 percent 5G subscribers said there was no improvement in data speeds while 7 percent reported deterioration. This is not just restricted to rural areas and small towns but big cities and metros, including Delhi and Mumbai.
So far, Reliance Jio “True” – which joined the race just four days after Airtel launched its 5G network operations on October 1, 2022 – has gained the lead in rolling out 5G in over 100 cities. But it is too early to gauge the difference 5G will make and how many will invest in new mobile phones to be able to use the services.
The department of telecommunications (DoT), which is not happy with the operators’ apathy to consumer complaints, is reportedly planning to wait another five to six months before assessing the performance. Large incentives were given to the sector to help boost investment and ensure better services.
On December 28, 2022, telecom secretary K Rajaraman was reported to have held a meeting with operators to discuss issues related to service quality, and policy interventions for improving call quality. During the two-hour meeting, operators reportedly made a detailed presentation on current levels of service quality against stipulated benchmarks.
The DoT is taking a long-term view of matters related to service quality and has asked the operators to identify problem areas and make suggestions on policy interventions that could improve call connectivity. Besides policy-level measures, the department is also looking at legal frameworks that can ensure a better quality of service.
Consumers, however, have shared their experiences as they make the switch from 3G/4G to 5G services. Expectations were high as many invested in a new device during the festive season to avail 5G. The LocalCircles survey was based on feedback received from 5G users.
It asked questions related to call drop and connectivity after a move to 5G. Only 16 percent subscribers surveyed said the situation has improved since their transition from 3G/4G services.
One in two 5G subscribers said they faced connectivity and call drop issues with over 25 percent of total phone calls made, while 28 percent claimed they faced issues with more than half of the total phone calls.
The survey also focused on understanding if the quality of data connection had improved after a move to 5G services. It could be said user input is more encouraging when it comes to data speed and connectivity for subscribers who moved to 5G.
But the survey found that so far, user experience of 5G services has fallen short of expectations. In an earlier survey, which was conducted in October 2022, it was found that 58 percent mobile phone subscribers had indicated that they expected improvement in call connectivity and drop while 51 percent were expecting better data speeds.
The need of the hour is for operators to find the root cause behind poor consumer experience with 5G and raise awareness among prospective users on what to expect.
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