In order to handle the heavy telecom traffic during emergencies and disasters, the regulator TRAI has issued its recommendations on priority routing of calls (PCR) of persons engaged in response and recovery.

TRAI had sought views on the issue from stake holders and industry bodies COAI, AUSPI and BSNL to look into the technical issues involved in implementation of priority call routing in India.

“In past, a significant rise in telecom traffic has been observed during natural disasters and emergencies that result in network congestion, which hampers disaster management during such crisis”, TRAI said in a statement. 

TRAI proposed that a priority call routing should be instituted to ensure that calls of personnel responsible for response and recovery during disasters are routed on priority.

It also suggested that the government should fund PCR scheme through budgetary allocations and should oversee its implementation.