Call drop rates in India averaged 4.73 per cent in 2015

Call drops in India are higher than the globally accepted 3 per cent standard, according to a report by Redmango Analytics Pvt. Ltd. A call drop is when an ongoing call is suddenly interrupted against the wishes of the user. Call drop rates in India averaged around 4.73 per cent, according to a RedMango study of 20 Cities in 2015. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India prescribes 2 per cent as the acceptable call drop rate for the country.

There are three major reasons why mobile networks drop calls -poor coverage, poor quality and network failures. According to the study, 59.1 per cent of all dropped calls were due to poor quality. Most call drops occur due to interference and other quality-related issues. Around 37 per cent of all the dropped calls were due to network failures.

A significant number of call drops also occur due to network infrastructure problems. Only 4 per cent were in poor coverage areas. The primary reason for a poor coverage is lack of mobile towers.

The smartphone plays a significant role in a call drop experience. The average smartphone is an amalgamation of various parts such as radio devices, operating systems and applications. This multitude of systems often means that each type, model and version of a smartphone has a different experience on a mobile network.

The study found the call drop experience of handsets in each price range varied significantly on the same network.

"The type, version and operating system significantly impacts the call drop experience of smartphones. Since awareness of this is low among users in India, mobile operators must compensate for this by designing their networks for the lowest performing smartphones that proliferate the market," says the report.