Bad mobile signal? No coverage? Things may be about to get better

Miles from the well-trodden path and cannot connect to your mobile network? Lost signal may soon be mobile history, with the government planning to insist that telcos ensure actual coverage, and not just erect cellular towers.

- Jatin Grover

As part of their service obligations, telcos may soon be required to ensure actual, usable mobile coverage-particularly along highways, railway routes, and sparsely populated areas that frequently suffer from weak or no signal, two people in the know said.

"Presently, the telecom operators only have the obligation to put a certain number of towers in a certain region or circle. Though the government prescribes a percentage to the extent regions are to be covered, where to install towers is decided by telcos based on commercial considerations and service demand," an official said, adding that the current minimum rollout obligations are not sufficient to provide decent coverage in critical areas.