The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked all telecom operators to compensate subscribers for call drops starting from 1 January, 2016.

Telecom operators had said they would wait for a Delhi High court order before paying compensation, but subscribers are yet to receive compensation or witness a dip in the number of call drops.

"We have received a notice from the TRAI asking us to implement the compensation order, but we will wait for the court's decision," a Mumbai-based operator told The Hindu.

According to reports, TRAI had earlier said mobile subscribers should be paid compensation of Re 1 for every call drop, but only up to three call drops a day. The operators had challenged the order in the Delhi High Court.

The next hearing for the case is scheduled to be held on 6 January, Press Trust of India reported.

Telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone are worried that if the order is implemented they might have to end up paying Rs 1,000-1,500 crore as compensation annually, as per a Press Trust of India report.

The Cellular Operations Association of India (COAI) and other telecom operators said laws of physics make it impossible to provide 100% drop-free network.

"As of today, our telecom operators are not ready to implement it (the rule) because of various complexities that we brought to the notice of the court," Rajan S Mathews, COAI Director General told Press Trust of India.

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