New Delhi: Government on Friday said the increased availability of spectrum would address the issue of call drops and improve quality of services as it envisaged the possibility of free talk time being available over the 4G platform.
Responding to questions in Rajya Sabha, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, replying on behalf of Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, said "with the additional availability of bandwidth, the incidents of call drops will reduce and quality of services will improve".
He was responding to the issue raised by Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena, who along with some members.
When the members also expressed apprehensions about a rise in call rates following the spectrum auction which will fetch the government about Rs 1.83 lakh crore, Pradhan said "the increase in call rates as apprehended by some members are valid. But TRAI decides the rates."
Referring to a period when incoming calls were charged Rs 17 a minute, Pradhan said the subsequent auctions have led to a drop in call rates and with the latest auctions, there would be a possibility when calls made over 4G platform could be available for free.
He said the auction has fetched the government Rs 32,377 crore as upfront payment from successful bidders and the process was conducted with all "transparency".
