The Hindu : New Delhi News : Survey shows decline in quality of phone service

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 14, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Survey shows decline in quality of phone service

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 13. While the number of phone subscribers has gone up exponentially, the quality of service (QoS) has deteriorated, according to a survey conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

In the case of fixed phones, customers are unhappy with the tardy fault repair and billing services. Mobile phone subscribers are not too pleased with the response to their complaints about billing. The period covered by the survey was April to June 2004.

In the case of fixed phone services, none of the operators achieved the TRAI-stipulated norm of providing new connections within seven days of registration. On the "fault incidences per 100 subs/month" and "shift request" parameters, only four operators (Tata-Gujarat, Bharti-Tamil Nadu, Bharti-Karnataka and Tata-Karnataka) and two operators (Shyam-Rajasthan and BSNL-North-East, respectively, met the benchmark. Both the units of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited in Mumbai and Delhi and most of the telecom circles of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited failed to meet the QoS norms. In all other key parameters such as fault repair by the next working day and mean time to repair, less than half the operators complied with the norms.

Compared to the previous quarter (January-March 2004), improvement was observed in the number of operators meeting the benchmarks in fault repair by the next working day, mean time to repair and billing disputes, during the survey period.

The ``subjective'' part of the survey revealed that customer satisfaction rating in most of the circles across the country has deteriorated compared to the last quarter, except in the southern region, which has not registered any change. The eastern region has the highest number of dissatisfied subscribers. Satisfaction levels in Metro and B circle have decreased compared to the last quarter. However, C circles are showing some improvement. The key parameters on which the deterioration is the highest are network performance, maintainability, help services and billing.

In the case of GSM mobile services, more than half the operators achieved the objective QoS benchmark in all parameters. However, billing is an area of concern. Only 37 out of 70 service providers achieved the benchmark of less than 0.1 per cent complaints per 100 bills issued. The subjective survey showed ``significant deterioration'' in the satisfaction level. The maximum drop in performance is in Metros, indicating a need for telecom operators to increase the number of call centre executives, improve network coverage and upgrade the billing system. Similarly, GSM service providers should increase transparency levels in tariffs and schemes. Performance has deteriorated in all the regions except the southern region. A quarter-wise comparison of the data reveals that subscribers in the Metro and B circle are increasingly becoming dissatisfied with the services. However, there has been a marginal improvement in the satisfaction levels of A and C circle subscribers.

In the case of CDMA-based services, the survey shows an improvement in the performance of most of the operators, compared to the last quarter. In the subjective QoS assessment, A and B circle subscribers are relatively more satisfied with the quality of services, compared with the Metro and C circle subscribers.

Based on the report and the quarterly performance monitoring reports submitted by phone companies, TRAI held a meeting with senior officials of fixed phone companies to address deficiency in the quality of service. The operators wanted a long-term extension for meeting the benchmarks. TRAI is considering the request. Similar meetings will be held with mobile service providers to find out the reasons for not achieving the benchmarks. Simultaneously, TRAI has decided to audit the billing system of the telecom operators to reduce billing-related complaints.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi