Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS

Consultation Paper No. 02/2009

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission

Standardization of Quality of Service (QOS) Parameters for Public Switched Telephone Network (Wire Line and WLL)

Dated August 3, 2009 IEB Bhaban (5th to 7th Floor), Ramna, Dhaka - 1000

Page 1-1 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS

CHAPTER 1
1. Background 1.1 Bangladesh National Telecommunication Policy, 1998 stipulates

maintenance of Quality of Service to prescribed standards set by the commission. Further, Article 30 (2)(j)&(k) of the Bangladesh

Telecommunication Act, 2001 empowers Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to set the technical standards of telecommunication services provided by operators and to ensure that such services conform to such standards set by the Commission. Also in accordance with this Article, the Commission is mandated to make arrangements for monitoring the QoS standards set by the Commission and their compliances. The licenses issued to operators by the BTRC as well as the licenses previously issued by the Ministry of P&T on revalidation require the Operators to comply to standards and QoS benchmarks and reporting of performance at the specified periodic intervals, primarily to achieve the following objectives: i) Create conditions for customer satisfaction by making known the Quality of Service which the service provider is required to provide and the user has a right to expect; (ii) measure the Quality of Service provided by the Service Providers from time to time and to compare them with the norms so as to assess the level of performance; and (iii) To generally protect the interests of consumers of

telecommunication services and at the same time act in a manner conducive to rapid growth of the industry, not making it more burdensome for it than necessary.

1.2 QoS regulations should clearly define the QoS parameters, Performance monitoring and method of measurement and should aim at reducing or eliminating ambiguity. This evidently calls for consultation with service providers for obtaining their inputs in regard to practical, measurable and meaningful QoS Page 2 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS standards. Maintenance of QoS is important to achieve customer satisfaction and to protect consumer interest as well as to enable the customer to make informed choice of an operator. In a competitive scenario, the need for service providers to provide good service to attract and retain the customer should serve as an incentive for operators to maintain high quality of service.

1.3 Wire line services being the traditional form of telecom services that the consumers are accustomed to in this country; the operators need to take proper measures to meet their expectations in regard to the Quality standards. In this context, this consultation paper intends to facilitate the operators for eliciting their comments in relations to various parameters proposed. The paper also contains the QoS parameters and their benchmarks for the WLL services.

Page 3 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS

CHAPTER 2
Quality of Service (QoS) Parameters and their Benchmarks for PSTN (Wire Line) 2.
2.1

PSTN (Wire Line) Services


Present Status

Even though fixed wire line licenses have definite provisions in regard to quality of service standards and their benchmark and also for reporting of performance by the operators at the specified periodic intervals, it has been observed that the same is not being followed by them. Therefore, in order to obtain views of all the stakeholders on plausible reasons in not complying with the license conditions and also to bring out a regulation by BTRC for enforcing the QoS standards, there is apparent need to review the existing QoS performance standards, their monitoring and measurement in the interest of subscribers and above all indicative of QoS actually being realized and provided by the operators. Schedule 4.1 (clause 10.02) of PSTN license relates to QoS standards which among other things also include provisioning of interconnection to other service providers, dial tone delay and service blocking probabilities. International Telecommunication union (ITU) having considered the level of competition as well as extensive deployment of digital networks has identified and published 9 QoS parameters (both objective and subjective) in ITU Telecom Indicators Handbook. These are as under: 1. The length of waiting limits for main line. 2. Percentage of telephone service faults cleared by the next working day. 3. Percentage of failed calls. 4. Number of telephone main line faults.

Page 4 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS 5. Percentage of calls for operator services answered within 15 seconds. 6. Number of complaints per 1000 bills issued. 7. Customer satisfaction rate. 8. Call setup time. 9. Call success rate. ITU, however, has chosen these performance indicators for collecting comparative statistical data of its member countries for publication in the ITU Telecom Indicators Handbook and has not recommended any benchmarks for these parameters and left it to regulation by each country. Considering, therefore, the ITU-T recommendations as well as QoS benchmarks adopted by the countries of Asia Pacific region1, the following QoS benchmarks for objective (measurable) and subjective (Customers perception of service quality) assessment are suggested for the purpose of consultation with the stakeholders.

2.2

Objective Assessment

2.2.1 Service provisioning interval


The number of days required to provide service from the date of registration of demand for main line (PSTN) by the customer,It is proposed to adopt the following benchmarks: Urban- 90% within 5 days and 100% within 7 days. Rural- 90% within 10 days and 100% within 15 days. These norms would be valid in areas where a main line is available on demand. The operator should specify such areas and the same should be widely

refer Annexure 1

Page 5 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS publicized. In order to ensure that applications for telephone connections are registered in a transparent manner and without any discrimination, it is mandatory for the service provider to register all demands for main lines and allocate registration number to the prospective customer in chronological order. If the telephone can be provided on demand, the same should be provided within the period in accordance with the prescribed benchmark as above. In all other cases, waiting list should be maintained and connections released in a nondiscriminatory manner as per the waiting list, objectively predetermined for various categories, if specified. The customer should also be made aware of his position in the waiting list.

2.2.2 Service blocking probability


The blocking of service could occur either due to an Exchange failure or partial blocking of the common control equipment in the exchange. The benchmark prescribed in schedule 4.1 of the license is 1% i.e. the service blocking probability should not be more than 1%.

2.2.3 Installation Appointment Met


The total no of installation appointments booked with the customers should be met 100% as far as possible. However, while proposing the benchmark keeping in view the actual field conditions, these could be as under: Urban 90% or more Rural- 80% or more

2.2.4 Fault Incidence (Number of faults / 100 customers / month)


This parameter measures how much a fixed line network is fault prone. BTRC has prescribed in the license this parameter as 5 faults/100 customer/ month. As uninterrupted availability of telephone service to subscriber is largely dependent on this parameter, it is proposed to retain this as it is. However, the faults due to natural calamities such as fire, flood, cyclone, earthquake or any

Page 6 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS other force-majeure condition, which are beyond the control of service providers are excluded. In all such cases, the customer should be informed about the reason and the time by which the fault will be rectified and the service restored. However, the customer will be entitled for rebate in rent till the fault is rectified in all cases. Measurement Fault incidences i.e. no. of faults/100 customers (main lines)/month = Total number of faults in the Quarter (3 months) ---------------------------------------------------------Total No. of Main Lines at the end of the Quarter 100 -------3

2.2.5 Percentage of Faults Cleared


In order to bring out perceptible improvement in QoS, it is suggested that these parameters be fixed as under: a) Faults cleared by the next day>= 80% b) Faults cleared by the 3rd day=100% In the event of fault persisting beyond three days, the customer should be granted rent rebate on pro- rata basis from the time the delivery of service was interrupted to the time of restoration.

2.2.6 Mean Time To Repair (MTTR)


Time to repair means the period from the time of booking the fault by the customer or by any other person on behalf of the customer to the time of the repair and confirmation by the customer conveying his satisfaction. On monthly basis all the complaints for fault repair along with their repair time are to be included in calculations and thereafter mean time to repair is determined. The benchmark proposed is = 8 hours (For the purposes of calculating the hours

Page 7 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS taken in rectifying the fault, the nonworking hours i.e. from 6 P.M to 8 A.M next day and holidays shall be excluded). Measurement: Mean Time to Repair(MTTR) = sum of duration of each repair time in hours for all the fault incidences in a Quarter(3 months) / Total no of fault incidences in that quarter( 3 months)

2.2.7 Call Completion Ratio


Call Completion Ratio is defined as the ratio of the number of successful calls to the number of call attempts. Not all call attempts result in successful calls i.e. called party answers. A variety of reasons such as called line busy, no answer and congestion in the network as well as customer behavior like premature release, wrong dialing etc. are responsible for the failure. Congestion or blocking occurs due to either common control equipment congestion in the exchange or congestion in the trunk circuit / junction group to handle the calls. Considering these aspects, it is proposed that the benchmark for call completion ratio within the local network should be better than 55% measured during Time Consistent Busy Hour (TCBH).

2.3

Metering and Billing Credibility

2.3.1 Billing Complaints


The percentage of bills resulting in a customer complaint indicates the billing performance. Billing complaints per 100 bills issued = (total number of disputed bills X 100) /total number of bills issued during one billing cycle. The Billing Performance parameters have been specified for online charging systems as well as for offline Billing Software system. It includes charging errors in preparation of bills by the service providers. This also relates to the handling of billing/charging to customers and is reflected in the number of complaints

Page 8 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS received from customers due to billing/charging errors, including the timeliness in delivery of bills. All complaints on each bill are taken as one complaint. The benchmark for this parameter should not be more than 0.1% of bills issued i.e. not more than one bill in one thousand bills issued should be disputed over a billing cycle. The types of billing complaints generally include the followings: Payment made and not credited or wrongly credited; Payment made on time but late payment charges levied wrongly; Wrong billing; Excess billing; Charging for toll free services; Local call charges billed as NWD/IDD or vice versa; Calls or messages made disputed; Credit agreed to be given but not accounted in the bill; Charging for services provided without consent; Charging not as per tariff plan; Overcharging or undercharging; Bill received late; and Bill wrongly addressed or not received;

2.3.2 Resolution of Billing Complaints


This parameter is defined as percentage of billing complaints resolved within 4 weeks. It is proposed to set this benchmark as 100% i.e. 100% billing complaints should be resolved within 4 weeks from the date of receipt. Monitoring of this parameter will also help the service provider in collection of dues and avoidable bad debts. Primarily it will increase the customer satisfaction. The performance against this parameter could be measured as per the following formula:

% of billing complaints resolved within 4 weeks = (Number of billing complaints resolved within 4 weeks Page 9 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS during the quarter X 100) / number of billing complaints received during the quarter. Further, it is proposed to introduce a parameter Period of all refunds/ payments due to customers from the date of resolution of complaints. Not only, a billing complaint has to be resolved within 4 weeks but any credit/waiver/adjustment arising out of resolution of that complaint has to be made to the customers account within 4 weeks of resolution of the complaint and intimation thereon to the customer.

2.4

Customer Care/ Customer Help

2.4.1 Promptness in Attending to Customers Requests a) Shift


Shifting of telephone involves shift within the exchange area, shift outside the exchange area and shift outside the service area. One of the important issues involved in shifting of wire line telephone is technical feasibility at the address, where the telephone is required to be shifted. It is proposed to set the benchmark for shifting of telephone in the same exchange area within 3 working days and within the same service area as 7 working days.

b) Closures: =<3 days. 2.4.2 Response Time to the Customer for Assistance
This parameter reflects the speed of response either by the operator or electronically by the IVR system at the Call Centre/Customer Care/Help Desk or fault repair service provided by the service provider. It is proposed to keep this parameter in two parts: (i) % age of calls answered (electronically) Within 20 seconds =80% Within 40 seconds = 95% (ii) % age of calls answered by operators (voice to voice) Page 10 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS Within 60 seconds = 80% Within 90 seconds = 95% In addition to above, there is need to provide a benchmark for accessibility of call centre number which means that the customer should be able to access the call centre without much difficulty. The benchmark for this is proposed as under: Minimum 95% calls to be connected successfully.

2.5

Point of Interconnection (POI) Congestion

Telecom networks interconnect with each other at the Point of Interconnection. Each interconnecting party should provide sufficient capacity up to the Point of Interconnection to carry its traffic to the other network. Congestion at the POIs is due to inadequate interconnection commensurate with the outgoing traffic at the Point of Interconnection between two telecom networks. The benchmark for POI congestion is proposed as =1 %. Each service provider has to measure its outgoing traffic during Time Consistent Busy Hour (TCBH) to check adequacy of available network resources to ensure that the POI congestion is within the specified benchmark limit.

Page 11 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS

CHAPTER 3
Quality of Service (QoS) Parameters and their Benchmarks for WLL 3. PSTN (WLL) Services

3.1 Complaints/ Fault Incidence and Repair


There are distinct provisions in the PSTN (WLL) licenses to set up a mechanism for receipt and disposal of complaints. Complaints/ fault incidence will include the problems relating to network performance namely non-availability of service, delay in call setup, no ring back, call blocking, call drop, poor voice quality, service coverage, etc. The benchmark proposed for this Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is as under:

No of complaints per 100 subscribers per month: Benchmark: =1%. 3.2 Network Performance 3.2.1 Accumulated Down Time of BTSs
This parameter is defined as the ratio of sum of down time in hours of all the BTSs in a quarter to No. of clock hours in that quarter multiplied by no. of working BTSs in the network. For this purpose the down time of a BTS exceeding more than 1 hour on each occasion is to be taken into account for calculation. The benchmark and the method of measurement of this parameter are as under: The benchmark for BTSs accumulated down time (not available for service) is proposed as =< 1% Measurements: BTSs accumulated down time (not available for service) in percent = {Sum of downtime of BTSs (exceeding more than an hour on each occasion) in a Quarter in hours} x100 divided by {24 x number of days in that Quarter x number of BTSs in the network}

Page 12 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS The parameter is computed from the data generated by BTS failure alarm display in OMC/NMS.

3.2.2 Worst Affected BTSs on account of Downtime


Worst affected BTSs on account of down time are those BTSs, which remain out of service for more than 96 hours in a Quarter (each time for more than 1 hour). Such BTSs shall be taken as worst affected BTSs for the computation of this parameter. The benchmarks for worst affected BTSs due to downtime are proposed as:

Benchmark = 1%.
Measurement: The performance against the benchmark shall be measured as under: Percentage of worst affected BTS based on down time = No. of BTSs having accumulated down time of >=96 hours in a quarter x 100 divided by the Total no. of BTSs in the network The parameter is computed from the data generated by BTS failure alarm display in OMC/NMS.

3.2.3 Call Set-up Success Rate


Call Setup Success Rate is the ratio of Established Calls to Call Attempts. The established calls are those calls where both Signaling Channel (Paging) and then the Traffic Channel (TCH) are assigned. The call attempt is defined as an attempt to achieve a connection to one or more devices attached to a telecommunication network. Established calls means the following events have happened in call set up. i. ii. iii. Attempt is made The TCH is assigned, and The call is routed to the outward path of the concerned MSC.

Page 13 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS Thus established calls is a process which includes complete signaling in the call set up and does not measure the performance of the called exchange or that of the Point of Interconnection. This is defined as under: Call set up success rate = (Total no. of Established calls x 100) / (Total no. of call Attempts) While computing this parameter the off-net and on-net calls shall be taken into account but the hand off will be excluded. It is proposed to keep the benchmark for this parameter as: = 95% Measurement: This parameter is to be computed from NMS/OMC Data. Quarterly value of this QoS parameter will be computed by averaging the daily TCBH value for the whole quarter.

3.2.4 Service Access Delay


This parameter defines the time taken from pressing the send button of WLL Set (MS) to getting the ring back tone. It consists of the following components: Time to connect call: This means that call setup command has been passed to the called network after authentication. This normally should happen within 4 seconds. Time to confirm instructions to connect: This is the maximum time from initiating the call setup command to when this is acknowledged to the user. This is concurrent to the time to connect call. Time to alert mobile set: The maximum time from when the mobile network receives a call for a mobile set to when the alert is energized. This time period is generally 4 to 15 seconds. Based on above, the benchmark for Service Access Delay should be =15 seconds.

Page 14 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS Measurement: These parameters shall be measured offline by using TEMS tool. Quarterly value of this QoS parameter will be computed by averaging the value of 1000 sample calls over a period of one quarter.

3.2.5 Block Call Rate


Block call means a call that is not connected because there is no free channel to serve a call attempt. a. Paging Congestion: This parameter denotes congestion in the network due to non-availability of signaling channel known as paging channel in respect of CDMA network. This is defined as under

Paging Congestion = (Total no. all type of Paging Assignment Failure x 100 ) / (Total no. of all type of Paging Assignment Attempt) Handoff, MOC, MTC, SMS, disconnect, location update, emergency call and all other counters/procedures should be taken into account while computing this parameter. . This parameter is to be computed from NMS/OMC Data. Quarterly value of this QoS parameter will be computed by averaging the daily TCBH value for the whole quarter. b. TCH Congestion: This parameter denotes congestion in the network due to non-availability of Traffic Channel (TCH). This is defined as under

TCH Congestion = (Total no. all type of TCH Assignment Failure x 100) / (Total no. of all type of TCH Assignment Attempt) Handoff, MOC, MTC and all other counters/procedures should be taken into account while computing this parameter. The benchmarks for these parameters are proposed as below: i) ii) Congestion due to Paging channel = 1% Congestion in TCH = 2%

Page 15 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS

Measurement: This parameter is to be computed from NMS/OMC Data. Quarterly value of this QoS parameter will be computed by averaging the daily TCBH values for the whole quarter.

3.2.6 Call Drop Rate


This parameter is a measure of uninterrupted quality of call during the entire length of conversation i.e. once the Traffic Channel has been assigned, the call should not drop. This parameter measures failure in coverage, problem with the quality of signal, network congestion and network failure. Dropped Call Ratio is the percentage of calls which, once they have been correctly established and therefore have an assigned TCH, are interrupted prior to their normal completion by the user, the cause of the early termination being within the operators network. This is defined as under Call Drop Rate = (Total no. of calls dropped due to all the reasons x 100) / (Total no. of established calls) All the drops in the traffic channel, signaling channel, radio link, handoff, radio resource, hardware failure and other counters/procedures should be taken into account while computing this parameter. The benchmark for this parameter is proposed as =< 3% Measurement This parameter is to be computed from NMS/OMC Data. Quarterly value of this QoS parameter will be computed by averaging the daily TCBH values for the whole quarter.

3.2.7 Connections with Good Voice Quality


In case of CDMA, the fundamental performance measured for voice quality is a Frame Erasure Rate (FER). It is the probability that a transmitted frame is received incorrectly. The frame includes signaling information and error detection bits as well

Page 16 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS as user voice voice/data. In CDMA system a good channel should have FER value = 4%. The proposed benchmark for connections of good voice quality = 95%. Measurement The measurement of voice quality parameter can be done from data derived from the system, as well as from drive test, which may be done on sample basis.

3.2.8 Service Coverage


This parameter is intended for measuring the coverage in terms of the received signal strength in a given service area. However this parameter is used by the operator primarily to check and improve the radio coverage, if necessary, in the service area. The benchmarks for the service coverage are proposed as under: Indoor = - 75 dBm. In-Vehicle = - 85 dBm. Outdoor = - 95 dBm.

Note: a) above would imply that the signal strength outside the building should not be less than 75 dBm, presuming 20 db loss in signal strength will occur from outside to inside of the building. Similarly in regard to b) above, 10 db loss is expected in case of a vehicle. Measurement: These parameters shall be measured by the operator through Drive Test and may be audited.

3.2.9 Point of Interconnection (POI) Congestion


This parameter indicates as to how effective is the interconnection between two networks. Very often the congestion at many points of interconnection occurs due to non-provisioning or insufficient provisioning of telecom circuit resource as per traffic requirements. These lead to:

Page 17 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS Inter-network congestion at the POI, loss of calls , repeated call attempts by customers, deterioration in QoS; and Customers dissatisfaction

The benchmark proposed for POI Congestion = 1% Measurement This parameter is measured using OMC generated data during Time Consistent Busy Hour (TCBH) once in a month.

3.3 Customer Care/Assistance 3.3.1 Response Time to the Customer for Assistance
This parameter reflects the speed with which a call is answered either by the operator or by the IVR system at the Call Centre/Customer Care/Help Desk or fault repair service provided by the service provider. It is proposed to set QoS standards for IVRS and for the voice to voice response separately. Accordingly, the following benchmarks are proposed:

(i)

% age of calls answered (electronically) within 20 seconds =80% within 40 seconds = 90%

(ii)

% age of calls answered by operators (voice to voice) within 60 seconds = 80% within 90 seconds= 90%

In addition to above, there is need to provide a benchmark for accessibility of call centre number which means that the customer should be able to access the call centre without much difficulty. The benchmark for this is proposed as under:

Minimum 95% calls to be connected to call center successfully. Measurement:

Page 18 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS

In case of calls handled by IVRS and operator, the call center data will be used to compute the response time. In case of calls to be connected to the call centers successfully, the parameter has to be computed on sampling basis. 3.3.2 Customers Request Compliance
Customer can demand provision of supplementary value added services as well as termination of the service and it is expected that prompt attention will be given in compliance to customers requests. It is therefore, necessary that QoS benchmarks are fixed for complying with the requests of the customers n respect of the following services: Provision of supplementary/ Value added services. Termination of Services.

It is proposed that 100% requests for providing supplementary services or for terminating the service should be complied within 24 hours. Thus the benchmark for this parameter is proposed as = 24 hours.

3.4

Billing/ Charging Complaints

There are three parameters relating to bills issued by the operator. These are as under: i) Complaints for 100 bills issued in case of post paid customers. ii) Resolution of billing complaints iii) Period of refunds/ adjustments to customers from the date of resolution of complaints.

3.4.1 Billing &Charging Credibility


The present trend in the mobile service shows that vast majority of the customers are prepaid customers wherein the charging is made on line through the IN platform and no bills are issued to the customer. In order that customer complaints relating to charging not as per tariff plan, credit and validity etc. are addressed effectively, it is necessary that benchmarks for both post paid billing and pre- paid charging are fixed separately as under:

Page 19 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS Benchmark should be = 0.1% i.e. not more than 1 bill in 1000 bills issued should be disputed over a billing cycle.

3.4.2 Resolution of Billing Complaints


In order to have customers confidence in the matters of billin g and charging, it is important that the complaints in this regards are minimal and disposed off quickly. Accordingly, it is proposed to set the benchmark as under: 100% complaints should be resolved within 4 weeks.

3.4.3 Refunds / payments due to Customers from the Date of Resolution of Complaints
The benchmark for this parameter is proposed as under: All refunds in the form of deposits/ credit / waiver / adjustment should be made within 4 weeks after the resolution of the billing.

Page 20 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS

CHAPTER-4 Customers Perception of Service Subjective Parameters and their Benchmarks 4. Background
A customers perception of Quality means his judgment on the overall satisfaction or otherwise of the service. Customer perception is the main criterion by which the service providers can assess and measure the true value of the quality they provide. Market research study2 shows that around 70% of customers dissatisfied with a service will go elsewhere, but only 5% will tell that they are unhappy. Dissatisfied customers tell an average of more than ten people about their poor experiences while satisfied customer will tell only five. Another study3 has shown that it costs up to five times as much money to attract a new customer as to keep an existing one, but 95% of dissatisfied customers will stay loyal if they are handled properly. This indicates how important the customer satisfaction is for the service providers. Subjective Satisfaction Studies aim to measure the Quality of Service as perceived by the customers and relate this to his/her expectation. While the perception of the Quality of Service will have some relationship with the actual quality of service delivered, there will remain some difference between the two. The gap between expectation and perception of service is an indicator of this satisfaction level (a measure of satisfaction). Characteristics of customer perception The principal characteristics of customers perceived quality are varying degree of subjectivity and expression as opinion ratings quantitatively.

2 3

Tony Brown Understanding BS 5750 and other quality systems (Grower Press,1993) Quality of Service in Telecommunications by A.P. Oodan, K.E. Ward and A.W. Mullee).

Page 21 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS Customers perception could be influenced b y a variety of factors which will affect their judgment of quality, such as Customers awareness of services Customers expectations Experienced Quality Customers recent experiences Advertising and marketing Nature of the survey

Survey by Independent Agency Survey by an independent agency is the most direct way of measuring customer satisfaction by means of the verbal or written feedback from a sample of customers. This method can be carried out to find out the customer satisfaction on the different aspects of the telecommunications services. Such surveys and the resulting analysis should ideally done by an independent agency to produce a fair and unbiased indication of customer satisfaction. Relations between customer satisfaction and Quality of Service Basically, Quality of Service represents a measurable set of parameter that defines the level of service that a service provider can be accountable. The quality of the service that the user received is one of the key factors which decide customer satisfaction and as such the quality of the service should be kept at a level that fulfils customer requirements along with the necessary technical and customer care requirements.

4.1

Subjective Parameters and their benchmarks

4.1.1 Service Provisioning


This activity will include the customer satisfaction in respect of the followings: Satisfaction in regard to providing/activating a fixed line phone/mobile telephone/Broadband connection.

Page 22 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS Satisfaction about time taken for shifting a telephone. Satisfaction with re-activation of service in case of disconnection due to non-payment. Satisfaction with ease of understanding the offer or tariff plan.

The benchmark proposed in regard to provision of service = 95%

4.1.2 Billing/ Charging Performance


Post Paid: Satisfaction with timely receipt of the bill. Satisfaction with the accuracy and completeness of the bill Satisfaction with the clarity in bills/ presentation of the billing information in terms of transparency and understandability. Satisfaction with the process of resolution of billing complaints

The benchmark proposed is % satisfied with the billing performance = 90%

4.1.3 Help Services/ Customer Care


Satisfaction with ease of access of call center/ customer care or help line. Satisfaction with the response time taken to answer (waiting time) the call by the customer care executive. Satisfactions with the time taken by call center/ customer care or help line to resolve the complaints. Satisfaction with the problem solving ability of the customer care executive. Satisfaction with the achievement of a satisfactory solution or resolution of old complaints.

Page 23 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS Satisfaction with the overall grievance redressed mechanism.

The benchmark proposed is % satisfied with help service = 90%

4.1.4 Network Performance, reliability and Availability


Satisfaction with the network coverage (signal strength or availability of telephone connections). Satisfaction with the ability to make or receive calls easily. Number of call drops experienced during conversation. Satisfaction with the voice quality. Satisfaction on Bandwidth availability. Satisfaction with Internet Access. The benchmark proposed is % satisfied with Network Performance, reliability and availability = 95%

4.1.5

Maintainability
Average duration and frequency of network/ exchange outages (no signal or no dial tone or no Internet Access). Satisfaction with availability of network. Satisfaction with restoration of network (signal/ exchange/broadband connection) problems. Number and frequency of faults/ problems experienced.

The benchmark proposed is % satisfied with maintainability = 90%

4.1.6

Supplementary Services/Value Added Services


Satisfaction with process of activation of supplementary/ value added services. Satisfaction with ease of messaging (SMS/MMS).

Page 24 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS The Satisfaction with the voice mail. Satisfaction with the quality of the supplementary/ value added services. benchmark proposed is % satisfied with Supplementary

Services/Value Added Services = 95%

4.1.7 Overall Customer Satisfaction


Satisfaction with the quality of total service offering

The benchmark proposed for Overall Customer Satisfaction is = 95%

4.2

Assessment of Customers Perception of QoS

The assessment could be made either by getting the response of the customers to questionnaire or through personal/telephonic interviews. For computing the percentage satisfaction level of the customers, one of the following two methods may be adopted:

4.2.1 Weighted Satisfaction Scores


The overall weighted satisfaction score is ascertained using the following formula: Mean Score = A/N Where, A= (No of customers who have given rating of very satisfied X 4) + (No of customers given rating of satisfied X 3) + (No of customers who have given rating of dissatisfied X 2) + (No of customers who have given rating of very dissatisfied X 1) N= Total sample size i.e. No. of customers covered in survey Overall weighted satisfaction score = {(Mean score 1) / 3} x 100 Thus, if all customers are very satisfied, the operator can get a score of 100%. On the other hand, if all the customers are very dissatisfied, the operator gets a score of 0%. Accordingly, the scale has been calibrated to range between 0% to 100%.

Page 25 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS

4.2.2

Alternate Approach - Mean Opinion Score (MOS)

In this process the customer perception is recorded on a five point scale as under: Customer Perception Mean opinion Score(MOS) Excellent Good Fair/Average Poor Bad

Minimum acceptable Mean Opinion Score can be specified as a benchmark of customers perception of QoS. It is proposed that (4-Good) could be an acceptable indicator of customer satisfaction. Measurement The MOS can be computed by using the following formula: MOS = (5 A + 4B + 3C + 2D + 1E) / N Where, A=No. of customers having perceptions about the service as Excellent B= No. of customers having perceptions about the service as Good C= No. of customers having perceptions about the service as Fair/Average D= No. of customers having perceptions about the service as Poor E= No. of customers having perceptions about the service as Bad N=Total sample size, i.e. No of customers surveyed (A+B+C+D+E).

4.2.3 Sample Size


In order to fix the sample size for conducting the survey for assessing customer satisfaction, the target population should be fixed as per following table: Population Size Sample Size

Page 26 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS 100000 200000 500000 1000000 and above 1056 1061 1065 1066

These are determined on the following basis: Confidence level Confidence interval 95% 3

Page 27 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS

CHAPTER - 5 Record Keeping, Reporting of Quality of Service Performance by operators and Customer Survey
5.1 Need for Record Keeping

For the purposes of verification and audit of QoS parameters by the Regulator, it is important that the data regarding performance and benchmarks are kept and maintained properly. While some of the data related to network performance is generated by OMC/ NMS and stored in electronic form, the others are to be recorded and kept in a manner that these could be retrieved/ obtained whenever required. This calls for adopting uniform record keeping procedure by all the service providers so that the verification and auditing could be done either by the staff of the BTRC or by an independent agency engaged by BTRC. For this purpose the Reporting formats given in Tables 1 and 2 may be utilized.

5.2 Reporting of Performance against the QoS Benchmarks


The operators are under obligations to report the Network Performance Parameters against the benchmarks prescribed by the BTRC every quarter. For this purpose, the Reporting Formats for the operators in respect of Wire Line and WLL have been framed and are annexed as Tables 1 and 2 respectively.

5.3 Auditing the QoS Parameters and Customer Survey


In accordance with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act 2001, one of the major functions of the BTRC is to lay down the standards of QoS to be provided by the service providers and to ensure the Quality of service and also to audit the performance parameters reported by the operators. Additionally, to ascertain the level of customers satisfaction, BTRC is to conduct the periodical surveys by an expert agency. Therefore, monitoring the network performance against the prescribed benchmarks as well as assessing the satisfaction level of the customers by conducting customer survey are the major functions of BTRC. For this purpose the operators are required to furnish performance reports on quarterly basis. These reports shall be analyzed by QoS Group of BTRC and also sample auditing shall be

Page 28 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS carried out to verify the correctness of these reports The BTRC may also put in place a system of Direct Monitoring for which purpose, secure access to the concerned Operators facility and necessary tools to enable it shall be provided by the Operator. As far as customer survey is concerned, this has to be carried out by an expert agency to assess the perception of a customer about the service he/she is getting. To carry out the customer survey a set of questionnaire, is provided in Table 3.

Page 29 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS

CHAPTER - 6 Proposals on QoS Benchmarks and Issues for Consultation Summary of Proposals for Consultation
6.1 Benchmarks for PSTN (Wire Line) Services

Chapter 2 of this document contains objective QoS parameters in respect of Service provisioning interval, Service blocking probability, Installation appointment met, Installation appointment with other service providers, in time activation of service switched to other service providers with both parties agreed, fault incidence, % of faults cleared, Mean Time to Repair (MTTR), call completion ratio, metering and billing credibility, customer care, Point of Interconnection Congestion. All these parameters have been defined as well as benchmark in respect of each has been proposed. Also the method of measurement has been brought out against each parameter. The comments of the stakeholders are solicited in regard to the benchmarks, their relevance in todays context and the me thods of measurement to compute the performance parameters.

6.2

Benchmarks for PSTN (WLL) Service

The QoS parameters and their benchmarks have been detailed out in chapter 3. This primarily includes complaints/fault incidence and repair, network performance in regard to accumulated down time of BTSs, worst affected BTSs due to down time, call set-up success rate within licensees own network, service access delay, block call rate, call drop rate, connections with good voice quality, service coverage, point of interconnection, customer care, billing complaints and their resolution.

6.3 Customers Perception of Service


Customer satisfaction is the basic parameter to judge the QoS provided by an operator. However, the methodology to measure this parameter is highly subjective and requires due care to assess the level at which services is being rendered. In order to ascertain the customer perception about the service, a set of questionnaires for PSTN services has been provided in Table 3. Further, in regard to assessment of

Page 30 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS customer perception of QoS, two approaches have been suggested namely the first one as the Weighted Satisfaction Scores and second one as Mean Opinion Score (MOS). The comments of the stakeholders are invited regarding the method of assessing the customers perception by using either Weighted Satisfaction Scores or Mean Opinion Score (MOS).

Page 31 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS TABLE 1

OPERATORS REPORTING FORMAT FOR PSTN (WIRELINE) SERVICES


REPORT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING: --------------------NAME OF SERVICE PROVIDER: --------------------SERVICE AREA: --------------------Sl No. Parameters Benchmarks Averaged Over Period of One Quarter QoS Achieved

Service Provisioning Interval.

Urban- 90% within 5 days and 100% within 7 days. Rural- 90% within 10 days and 100% within 15 days. =<1% Urban- 90% or more Rural- 80% or more =<5

2 3

Service Blocking Probability Installation Appointment Met Fault Incidence (No of faults/ 100 customers/ month) Percentage Faults cleared Mean Time Repair Call Ratio of

One Quarter One Quarter

One Quarter

By next day >= 80% By third day = 100%

One Month

6 7 8

To

=< 8 Hrs

One Month

Completion >= 55% within a local One Quarter network Billing

Metering and Not more than 0.1% of bills One Billing Credibility issued should be disputed Cycle over a billing cycle Resolution of 100% should be resolved Billing Complaints within 4 weeks from the date of receipt All refunds/ payments/ waivers should be made within four weeks from the date of resolution of the

One Quarter

Page 32 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS


complaints 10 Customer Care i) Promptness in attending to Customer request ii) Closure i) Shift =<3 days in same exchange and =<7 days in same service area One Month

ii) =< 3 days

One Month

11

Response Time to i) %age of calls answered the Customer for (electronically): assistance within 20 seconds = 80% within 40 seconds = 95%

One Month

ii) % age calls answered by operator (voice to voice): within 60 seconds = 80% within 90 seconds = 95%

iii) %age of calls connected successfully >= 95%

12

Point of Interconnection (POI) Congestion

=< 1%

One Quarter

Page 33 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS TABLE 2

OPERATORS REPORTING FORMAT FOR PSTN (WLL) SERVICES


REPORT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING:--------------------NAME OF SERVICE PROVIDER:--------------------SER VICE AREA:--------------------Sr. No. QoS Parameters Benchmarks Averaged Over a Period of 1 Complaints/ Fault Incidence and Repair 1.1 No of complaints per 100 subscribers per month 2 2.1 Network Performance Accumulated down time of BTSs 2.2 Worst affected BTS due to down time 2.3 2.4 2.5 Call set-up success rate Service Access delay Block call rate a. Paging channel congestion b. TCH Congestion 2.6 2.7 Call drop rate Connections with good voice quality 2.8 Service coverage a. Indoors (assuming 20 dB loss of signal) >= -75 dBm One Quarter =< 2% =< 3% >= 95% One Quarter One Quarter One Quarter =< 1% One Quarter >=95% =< 15 sec One Quarter One Quarter =<2% One Quarter =<1% One Quarter =<=1% One Month QoS Achieved

Page 34 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS


b. In vehicle (assuming 10 dB loss of signal) c. outdoors 2.9 Point of Interconnection Congestion (POI) 3 Customer Care/Assistance 3.1 Response Time to the customer for assistance a. Electronically 80 % within 20 sec 95% within 40 sec b. Voice to voice (By Operators) 80 % within 60 sec 95% within 90 sec One Quarter One Quarter >= -95 dBm =< 1% One Quarter One Quarter >= -85 dBm One Quarter

c. Call center accessibility 3.2 Customers request compliance 4 4.1 4.2 Billing Complaints Billing credibility Resolution of billing complaint 4.3 Refunds/payments/credit/ waiver/adjustment due to customers from the date of resolution of complaints.

>= 95 %

One Quarter

=< 24 hours

One Quarter

=< 0.1% =< 4 weeks

Billing Cycle One Quarter

=< 4 weeks

One Quarter

Page 35 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS TABLE 3

SURVEY OF PSTN (WIRELINE and WLL) SERVICES


Questionnaire for Customer Survey

Name of the operator: ----------------Name of the service area: -------------1. Service Provisioning 1.1 How much time was taken to get the 1. =< 7 days telephone connection installed and activated 2. 7-15 days after you applied for it? 3. 16-30 days 4. >= 30 days 1.2 How satisfied are you with time taken to 1. Very satisfied provide telephone connection? 2. Satisfied 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 1.3 How satisfied are you with the time taken 1. Very satisfied for shifting of telephone? 2. Satisfied 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 1.4 In case your connection was temporarily 1. Very satisfied suspended due to non-payment of bills, are 2. Satisfied you satisfied with the time taken to reactivate 3. Dissatisfied the service after you made the payment? 4. Very dissatisfied 2. Billing Related 2.1 How satisfied you are with the accuracy 1. Very satisfied of the bills? 2. Satisfied 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 2.2 How satisfied are you with the timely 1. Very satisfied delivery of bills? 2. Satisfied 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 2.3 Please specify the reasons for your 1. Charges not as per tariff plan subscribed dissatisfaction over the accuracy of the bills. 2. Tariff plan changed without information 3. Charge for value added services not subscribed 4. Charge for calls/ services not made/used 5. Others (please specify)--------------

Page 36 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS


2.4 Have you made any billing related 1. Yes complaints in last 12 months? 2. No 2.5 How satisfied are you with the process of 1. Very satisfied resolution of billing complaints? 2. Satisfied 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 2.6 How satisfied are you with the clarity of 1. Very satisfied the bills sent by your service provider in 2. Satisfied terms of transparency and understandability? 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 2.7 Please specify the reasons for your 1. Difficult to read the bills dissatisfaction in regard to question 2.6 2. Difficult to understand the language 3. Calculations not clear 4. Item-wise charges not given 5. Others(please specify)-----------3. Help Services/ Customer Care 3.1 Did you complain or make a query in the 1. Yes last 12 months to the customer care/call 2. No centre of your service provider? 3.2 How satisfied are you with ease of 1. Very satisfied access of call centre/ customer care or help 2. Satisfied line? 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 3.3 How satisfied are you with response 1. Very satisfied tome taken to answer your call by a 2. Satisfied customer care executive? 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 3.4 How satisfied are you with the problem 1. Very satisfied solving ability of the customer care 2. Satisfied executives? 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 3.5 How satisfied are you with the time taken 1. Very satisfied by call centre/customer care/help line to 2. Satisfied resolve your complaint? 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 4. Network Performance, Reliability and Availability 4.1 How satisfied are you with availability of your working telephone? 1. Very satisfied 2. Satisfied 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied

4.2 How satisfied are you with ability to make 1. Very satisfied or receive calls easily? 2. Satisfied 3. Dissatisfied

Page 37 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS


4. Very dissatisfied 4.3 How satisfied are you with the voice 1. Very satisfied quality? 2. Satisfied 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 5. Maintainability (Fault Repair) 5.1 Have you experience fault in your 1. Yes telephone connection in the last 12 months? 2. No 5.2 How many times your telephone became 1. Nil faulty in the last 1 month. 2. 1 time 3. 2-3 times 4. More than 3 times 5.3. How long did it take generally for 1. 1 day repairing to fault after lodging complaint? 2. 2-3 days 3. 4-7 days 4. >= 7 days 5.4 How satisfied are you with the fault repair 1. Very satisfied service? 2. Satisfied 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 6. Supplementary Services 6.1 Do you use services like call waiting, call 1. Yes forwarding, voice mail etc 2. No 6.2 How satisfied are you with the quality of the supplementary services provided? 1. Very satisfied 2. Satisfied 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied

7. Overall Customer Satisfaction 7.1 How satisfied are you with the overall 1. Very satisfied quality of your telephone service? 2. Satisfied 3. Dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied 7.2 If dissatisfied, specify the reasons 8. General Information 8.1 Have you been informed in writing about 1. Yes the complete details of your tariff plan within 2. No a week of activation of service? 8.2 Have you terminated a telephone 1. Yes connection during last 12 months? 2. No 8.3 If yes, please name your previous service provider. 8.4 How many days were termination of your connection? taken for 1. 1 day 2. 2-3 days 1. ---------------------2.------------------------

Page 38 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS


3. 4-7 days 4. >= 7 days 8.5 Did your service provider adjust your 1. Yes security deposit in the bill raised after you 2. No requested for termination?

Page 39 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS

Annexure - 1 International QoS Benchmark for Fixed Wireline Services

Sr. No. QoS Parameters / KPI Australia India

International KSA (Saudi Arabia) Urban within 100% in less 90% within Urban 100% 100% 5 within days 95% within 5 5 working days Malaysia Nepal Pakistan Singapore

Service Provisioning

5 days Rural within 10 days

than 7 days

3 days`

90% within within 2 days Rural 100% within days 7 days

Service Blocking Probability

_ _ _ _

= 1%

Page 40 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS 3 Installation Application No. booked _ _ _ _ _ _ _

and No. met 4 Installation Appointment with service provider 5 In activation time of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ other _ _ _ _ _ _ _

service to the customer switch to

other service provider with both agreed 6 Fault incidence ( _ =3 _ =4 = =4 = 0.5 party

Page 41 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS No. of faults / 100 station / month) 7 % of fault _ _ 90% 100%. 90% within hours 80% 24 90% 80% 90% _ _ =90% =99.9% <8

cleared a. Next working day b. 3rd working day 8

Mean time to Urban-end repair (MTTR) of working day(wd) Rural-end of =< 8 hours 2nd wd Remoteend of 3rd wd _ _ _ _ _ next

Page 42 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS 9 Call completion rate 10 Billing complaints 11 (a) Resolution of billing complaints 11 (b) Refund / _ 100% within _ _ _ _ _ _ 100% within 4 weeks _ _ _ _ _ _ = 0.1% = 0.3% = 2% 0.1% _ =55% Within _ _ =4 98% 5 % 1% _ _

local network

credit / waiver / adjustment

4 weeks

after resolution billing complaint 12 Customer care Shift _ _ = 3 days = 24 hours _ _ _ _ = 5 days = 1 day _ _ of

24 1 day

Page 43 of 44

BTRC Consultation Paper on QoS Closure Additional facilities 13 Response time to the _ _ 80% in 20 90% within 20 sec. in 60 _ _ _ _ = 24 hours _ _ hours = hours 80% 30 sec.95% in sec. 80% 60 90% 90 sec. 14 POI congestion _ =.5% _ _ _ _ _ in sec. in 60 in 98% in 30 sec. _ _ _ 24 _ _

sec.90% in 40 sec 80%

customer for assistance Electronically Voice to voice

sec. 95% in 90 sec.

Page 44 of 44

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi