Poor network coverage hurting digital payments, sparks call for urgent Trai action

New Delhi: Poor telecom service coverage has been disrupting digital payment and online banking transactions, with four out of ten people facing the issue over the last year. 

As per a survey by Localcircles recently, connectivity issues have been observed in 3G, 4G and 5G networks with 58% of respondents facing disruptions multiple times a month. 

The issue assumes significance, with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) already considering establishing norms to improve the quality of telecom services and network coverage. 

LocalCircles, a community social media platform, has shared the survey findings on call drops with the Trai and urged the telecom regulator to improve connectivity and quality of service needed for stable financial transactions such as online banking.

“The need of the hour here is for the regulator Trai to step in and work with operators to improve quality of service so digital financial transactions aren’t disrupted,” LocalCircles said in a statement. “With use of cash reducing and banks charging a fee for cash transactions and withdrawals, consumers have no option but to use digital transactions and it is the responsibility of the government to ensure digital connectivity is available through the length and breadth of the country.” It will share the findings of this survey with stakeholders, including the ministry of electronics and IT, Trai and the Reserve Bank of India.

The survey received over 39,000 responses from consumers located in 329 districts of India. Around 64% respondents were men, and 36% were women, while 44% were from tier-1, 34% from tier-2 and 22% were from tier 3 and 4.

According to LocalCircles, there has been a slight improvement in mobile data connectivity, with the percentage of respondents experiencing disruptions during mobile financial transactions reducing from 68% to 58% in the last two years. 

“So while there appears to be some improvement in the mobile data connectivity it is not significant enough and hence there is an urgent need to address network problems that lead to disruption in digital payments/ online banking transactions,” it said.

In the previous survey in 2022, around 92% of those surveyed faced frequent disruption or speed issues when browsing or making digital transactions using mobile data. This share has come down to 75% of the respondents in 2024. 

The issues they face at present include websites or apps or transactions getting stalled or not getting initiated, which they attribute to poor network. 

The body recently conducted another survey that said that 89% of 32,000 people across India, covered over three months, faced call disconnections and call drops, while 38% said that more than a fifth of their calls dropped. These connectivity issues have forced smartphone users to rely on internet or Wi-Fi for calls over the past two years, the consumer body said.