The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) wants the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to investigate as soon as possible the dropped calls often experienced by users of mobile telephones.

Its president, SM Mohamed Idris, said the problem also occurred during peak hour period and at dawn, resulting in the telephone users to suffer losses.

"When a call from a handphone is cut off suddenly due to technical problems, it is considered a dropped call, but the telephone user has been charged for the airtime, which may be for 30 or 60 seconds," he said in a statement here today.

He hoped the problem could be addressed as soon as possible to protect consumers' interests.

There should be an explanation for this, especially from telecommunication companies which are making profit out of it, he added.