Telecom Operator Quality of Service Indicators and Regulatory Reporting Requirements

Telecom Operator Quality of Service Indicators and Regulatory

Reporting Requirements

ITU Regulatory Meeting for the Arab RegionApril 2003

LYNNE DORWARDLADCOMM CORPORATION

April 2003LADCOMM CORPORATION2

Quality of Service Indicators and Regulatory Reporting Requirements

Overview – International Benchmarks



Regulatory requirements for quality of service reporting vary widely from country to country.

Examples: Canada: detailed quarterly reporting (16 criteria) direct to CRTC

(Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission) UK: bi-annual reporting to independent agency endorsed by

OFTEL Switzerland: independent market surveys commissioned by

BAKOM/OFCOM on an ad hoc basis Singapore: detailed quarterly reporting and ad hoc surveys

conducted by the TAS (Telecommunications Authority of Singapore)

India: detailed quarterly reporting to the TRAI (Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India)



Reporting focus continues to be primarily on fixed line services, especially residential.

Some exceptions: Portugal: ANACOM conducts random assessment of GSM operator

performance UK: bi-annual reporting includes some business services Canada: requires reporting on telecom company facilities provisioning for

competitors Singapore: addresses pay phones, mobile service, paging and internet

access in addition to standard fixed line services India: requires reporting on mobile as well as fixed services Australia: includes payphones quarterly; annual reporting for mobile

operators is in development stage France: ART conducts annual studies on performance of mobile operators



Sample Quality of Service Reports/Recommendations


Examples of Quality of Service Indicators– EU Recommendations

INDICATOR DEFINITION

MEASUREMENT

METHOD Supply time for initial connection ETSI ETR 138 ETSI ETR 138 Fault rate per access line ETSI ETR 138 ETSI ETR 138 Fault repair time ETSI ETR 138 ETSI ETR 138 Unsuccessful call ratio ETSI ETR 138 ETSI ETR 138 Call set up time ETSI ETR 138 ETSI ETR 138 Response times for operator services ETSI ETR 138 ETSI ETR 138 Response times for directory enquiry services

as for operator services

as for operator services

Proportion of coin and card operated public pay-telephones in working order ETSI ETR 138 ETSI ETR 138

Billing accuracy National definitions National definitions


Examples of Quality of Service Indicators – TRAI (India) BASIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

– Provision of telephone after registration of demand– Fault incidences: number of faults/100 subscribers– Fault repair by next working day– Mean Time to Repair– Dial Tone Delay– Grade of Service– Call completion rate – local networks– Delays in operator assisted trunk calls– Response time to other operator assisted services– Customer care promptness– Percentage of repeat faults– Customer perception of service

CELLULAR MOBILE TELEPHONE SERVICES– Fault incidents per 100 subscribers– Faults cleared within 24 hours– Call success rate within operator’s network– Call drop rate


Examples of Quality of Service Indicators– TAS Singapore

Direct Exchange Lines

Installation time within 5 working days or on date specified by customer (P) Appointment met on date specified by customer Waiting time

* 24 hours

* 48 hours

Operator Services - Percentage of Calls Handled

* within 10 seconds

* within 15 seconds

* within 20 seconds

* Average waiting time

Activation of IDD service on working lines * within 1 working day

* within 2 working days

* Analogue

* Digital

* International Analogue/Digital

* Local Analogue/Digital

* Analogue

* Digital

Average daily percentage of payphones in working condition * 1 working day

* 2 working days

Public Cellular Mobile Telephone Services

% of time network is operating (P)

% of calls lost due to busy channels (P)

% of calls successfully connected (P)

* On street level

* In-building ( public access areas )

Average time taken for calls to be connected

% of calls dropped or terminated abnormally

Time taken to activate service from receipt of application

Public Radio Paging Services

% of time network is operating (P)

% of paging attempts successfully sent (P)

Extent of service coverage (P)

Internet Services

Network availability (P)

* Dial-up access

* Leased-line access

* Dial-up access

* Leased-line access


Examples of Quality of Service Indicators – CRTC (Canada) INTERFACE 1: SERVICE PROVISIONING

– Provisioning interval from date of order (urban and rural): Number of days required to provide service from the date of customer's request.

– Installation appointments met: Total number of appointments booked and the number met, with percentage of those met relative to the total booked

– Held orders per 100 Network Access Services (NAS) Inward Movement: Number of outstanding requests for NAS which were not met on the due date because of facility shortages, expressed as a percentage of 100 NAS Inward Movement (Orders).

– Held rural upgrades per 100 upgrade requests: Compilation of orders for NAS outstanding at the end of the month which were not met on the due date

– Access to Business Office: Percentage of calls to a business office answered in 20 seconds or less

– Competitor Installation Appointments Met: Total number of installation appointments booked and the number met, with percentage of those met relative to the total booked for customers who are also competitors

– On-Time Activation for Alternate Providers of Long Distance Service: Provisioning process whereby the incumbent telephone companies switch a customer's long distance service over to a competitor

http://freespace.virgin.net/peter_j.k/EU_Flag_Page_2_Study_of_Mary.htm


Examples of Quality of Service Indicators – CRTC (Canada) INTERFACE 2: REPAIR SERVICE

– Out-of-Service Trouble Reports Cleared within 24 Hours: Total of initial out-of-service trouble reports and those cleared within 24 hours. Percentages of those cleared relative to this total.

– Repair Appointments Met: The actual number and percentage of repair appointments met

– Initial Customer Trouble Reports per 100 NAS : Report of a trouble from a customer indicating improper functioning of service on which there was no outstanding trouble report

– Community Isolation: Community isolation resulting from trunk failure that lasts one hour or more.

– Access to Repair Bureau: Percentage of calls to a repair bureau answered in 20 seconds or less .

– Competitor Repair Appointments Met: Total number of repair appointments booked and the number met, with percentages of those met relative to the total booked for customers who are also competitors.



Examples of Quality of Service Indicators – CRTC (Canada)

INTERFACE 3: LOCAL SERVICES – Dial Tone Delay: Percentage of attempted calls during the

busy hour experiencing dial tone delay of three seconds or less

INTERFACE 4: DIRECTORY SERVICES– Directory Accuracy: Percentage of customer listings in the

white pages of company directories published without errors or omissions

INTERFACE 5: COMPLAINTS– Customer Complaints: Number of complaints addressed (in

written and verbal form) to officers and department heads of the telephone companies and the Commission




Thoughts on Positioning Quality of Service Indicators



Useful as an internal performance monitor; help to establish company service goals

Permit operators to see how the competition is performing

If company is performing well, quality of service indicators can be a very effective marketing tool

Can assist in establishing a good relationship with the Regulator

Quality of service reporting should not be viewed negatively by operators.


Quality of Service Indicators – Achieving the Right Balance

The reporting and the report analysis process should not be too onerous for either the operator or the regulator

Key is to ensure that general public is served and, at the same time, that the operator is not impeded from carrying out day to day operating routines

In order to make Quality of Service reporting meaningful, the Regulator should establish realistic benchmarks in consultation with the operators in order to ensue that this is a mutually beneficial process

It is critical that the regulator follow up on the operator submissions especially when performance targets are not met (meetings, supplemental reports, fines and penalties, etc.)


Quality of Service Indicators – Some Personal Suggestions

Each Telecommunications regulatory authority should establish Quality of Service indicators; there is an overall benefit for all parties

For those countries on the brink of liberalization, this topic should not be ignored; a pro-active approach is recommended to entrench this concept

Nonetheless, most indicators have been developed based on basic telephony services and, in some cases, also based on traditional mobile services; is this suitable in the future as converged services evolve?

To what extent does the regulator intervene versus letting the market and the subscriber dictate quality?

Telecom Operator Quality of Service Indicators and Regulatory Reporting Requirements

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