Mobile phone users will soon get compensation for call drops that happen when in conversation with subscribers of the same operator.

The development comes after mobile operators refused to implement the telecom regulator's directive to compensate subscribers with one free minute from the second call drop of the day from July 1 onwards.

Operators said call drops are expected in any radio network, even those in developed countries.

A 3 percent call-drop volume is acceptable according to the International Telecommunication Union, and the operators' call drop volume was less than 1 percent in the last six months. Only in February, it went up to 1.05 percent.

Besides, there are one second and ten second pulse for every mobile package, so if the call drops it is unfair to compensate with one whole minute.

But the amended directive was accepted by all six mobile operators in a meeting chaired by Shahjahan Mahmood, chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, on Monday.

"The regulator told us to ensure compensation as early as possible but we have some technical issues that need to be resolved first," said a senior executive officer of a mobile operator who attended the meeting.

Only the top three operators have the capacity to run with the directive now.

"Since this is not going to lead to any commercial gain for us, we will wait until all have sorted out their technical issues and have developed the capacity to run with the directive," he added.

A senior official of BTRC who is related with the issue said they will move to inter-operator call drops after ensuring compensation for the same network call drops.

The issue of call drops came to the regulator's notice in 2014, when Grameenphone and Banglalink introduced a promotional offer of call-drop compensation.

Previously, top officials of different operators said the local operators' quality of service, even in case of call drops, is much better than their counterparts in neighbouring countries.