Telecos will not compensate for call drops as Supreme Court strikes down TRAI order

The Supreme Court said the order by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) asking telecom service providers to pay for call drops was unreasonable and struck it down.

Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman said the TRAI notification was unreasonable, arbitrary and non-transparent.

During the hearing, the telecom operators said TRAI decision was a populist measure to accommodate consumers as call drops were happening for host of external considerations not attributable to them.

The TRAI argued that the penalising for call drops was the least invasive way to deal with the issue and the telecos were making money from it.

Meanwhile, the Apex Court has asked the Indian government to make a law on call drops similar to those in the US.

The Cellular Operators' Association of India had approached the court challenging the Delhi High Court order which had upheld TRAI decision.

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