Obtaining QoS information
Ofcom remains in an intellectual confusion when it comes to its policy on consumer information. As I made clear in this posting, I am one of those who believes that the market is failing to provide consumers with the information they need to be informed and empowered and that Ofcom should play an more active and interventionist role in addressing this problem. So I welcome the approaching launch of some initiatives encouraged by Ofcom in the area of quality of service (QoS) information.
General Condition 21 provides that “Communications providers shall, on the Direction of Ofcom, publish comparable, adequate and up-to-date information for end users on
the quality of its service”. In January 2005, Ofcom published a Quality of Service (QoS) Direction, which required certain fixed line service providers to publish quality of service information for end users. The direction applied only to fixed providers as mobile operators apparently demonstrated a willingness to provide QoS information themselves. Both groups have been developing their own websites which will go live at the end of July.
The web site covering fixed line providers will be called called TopComm and operated by bluhalo. It will cover only those providers with £4 million in net revenues per quarter and 100 million minutes of calls handled to end users per quarter whether this income is achieved through its own infrastructure or through WLR or CPS. The measures used will be service installation, fault incidence & repair, and billing complaints & complaint resolution. Consideration is being given to publishing a customer satisfaction survey.
The web site covering mobile operators will be called TopNetUK and operated by Aircom. The surveys will cover the quality of voice services of four of the five mobile network operators.
The key factor in the success or otherwise of this QoS initiative will be the extent to which consumers use the sites. In turn, this will depend crucially on how they are promoted by Ofcom, the providers, price comparison web sites, the ADR schemes, and other consumer-facing bodies. The media could play a very helpful role here. Let us see if these bodies rise to the challenge.
