CA gazettes rules to check telco firms’ quality of service

Firms now required to submit network data more regularly. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

In Summary

• The regulator will now require operators to submit data on network performance more regularly as well as assess the quality of SMS and Internet services, placing a premium on customer feedback.
• Telcos have until now been vetted on eight voice call indicators, including speech quality, completed calls, call success rate and drop rate.

By CHARLES MWANIKI
More by this Author

The communications sector regulator has gazette new guidelines to measure the quality of mobile phone services in what will force operators to be more accountable to customers.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) will now require operators to submit data on network performance more regularly as well as assess the quality of SMS and Internet services, placing a premium on customer feedback.

Mobile phone operators have until now been vetted on eight voice call indicators, including speech quality, completed calls, call success rate and drop rate.

The CA has in a gazette notice published Friday indicated that the new quality of service (QoS) framework is in force, albeit having been activated in a phased manner beginning December 1, 2017.

“Respective network operators and services providers will submit to CA on a monthly basis the network coverage and the overall network performance data and analysis,” Christopher Kemei, CA’s acting director-general, says in the notice.

“Raw quality of service data shall be transmitted automatically by the operators’ systems to a CA’s server on an hourly basis.”

The new framework, which is made up of three components — network performance, customer experience and end-to-end performance — will be fully adopted over three years.

READ: CA stops plan to outsource phone service quality audit

In the first year, only end-to-end performance will be tested. This component looks at issues such as whether calls are dropped; the time it takes to connect a call; or the voice and data quality.

Once the framework is fully in place, the end-to-end quality of service measure will account for 60 per cent of the score awarded to operators. Network performance and customer experience will account for 25 per cent and 15 per cent of the score respectively.

Operators will have to score an overall 80 per cent to meet the quality of standards and avoid stiff penalties. Under the current regime, operators have repeatedly failed to meet quality of service standards and in 2016, they were collectively fined Sh312 million.