KATHMANDU, JUN 28 -
The government is preparing to strictly monitor the Quality of Service (QoS) offered by telecom operators in the country. The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) is gearing up to implement an automated software system to analyse the service provided by operators each month and effectively regulate them.
The QoS has always remained a hot issue in the telecom sector with major operators failing to provide quality service despite repeated directives of the NTA.
However, operators have been saying that they have been facing problems in maintaining the service quality mainly due to power shortages. The QoS is the main indicator of the performance of a telecom service network and of the degree to which the network conforms to the stipulated norms and standards specified by the regulator.
“We are preparing to develop the software and implement it from the next fiscal year,” said Babu Ram Dawadi, assistant director of the NTA. He added that the system would automatically analyse the service quality after entering the marks obtained by telecom companies based on the QoS parameters set by the regulator.
In a bid to develop the software system known as QoS Data Warehouse or QoS Bank, the regulator has started the procedure for a detailed system design for the development of a software module incorporating the hardware and software solutions by hiring an independent consultant. According to the NTA, the selected consultant will submit its report with the necessary recommendations of the warehouse development process which will be the reference document for the module developer.
The NTA has been carrying out a quality survey and performance test of wire line/wireless network of telecom operators through an independent consultant from last year in the main cities of Nepal. In the near future, as per the NTA, the activities will spread to rural and urban areas of Nepal covering the service of all six operators -- Ncell, Nepal Telecom, United Telecom Limited, Smart Telecom, Nepal Satellite Telecom and STM Telecom. So far, the quality study has been based on the service of Ncell, Nepal Telecom and United Telecom.
The total penetration rate of telecom service reached 62.56 percent including 55.40 percent of mobile service, according to NTA officials. Despite the growth in numbers in the telecom sector, the quality was still poor as it was five years ago.
“We have asked all the operators to submit a quality report each month to see their performance closely” said Dawadi. He added that the regulator was in the process of procuring Automatic Drive Test Equipment for QoS measurement in the future. Normally, operators themselves submit their QoS report to the NTA each quarter.
According to the NTA, it is also considering developing software for maintaining the electronic data of all internet service providers, their owners and subscriber bases. Likewise, the regulator has a plan for automatic certificate generation and database system for Type Approval of mobile handsets entering the country.
Source: http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/06/28/business/govt-to-monitor-telecom-service-quality/356277/
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