Four telcos fined RM1.2 million for dropped calls

May 12, 2014: Telecommunication firms Maxis, Celcom, DiGi and U Mobile were fined a total of RM1.2 million for their high dropped call rates between July and September last year, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said today.

Maxis recorded the highest dropped call rate, at 8.16% in Pendang, Kedah, according to MCMC’s periodic Extensive End-Point Service Availability Testing (EESAT).

DiGi came second and third with 8% and 7.78% dropped call rates in Laluan Jalan Utama from Tuaran to Kudat and Laluan Jalan Utama from Membakut to Keningau respectively, MCMC said in a statement.

DiGi, however, was fined the highest amount, at RM480,000, for 11 separate compounds.

Maxis Mobile Services Sdn Bhd had nine separate compounds amounting to RM360,000; Celcom Axiata Berhad was issued seven compounds totalling RM310,000; and U Mobile Sdn Bhd had one compound of RM50,000.

In telecommunications, the dropped-call rate (DCR) is the fraction of the telephone calls which, due to technical reasons, were cut off before the speaking parties had finished their conversation and before one of them had hung up (dropped calls). This fraction is usually measured as a percentage of all calls, said Wikipedia.

The ESSAT involves running 120 compliance measurements in various locations throughout the country, said MCMC. Compounds are served to telcos that show more than 3% dropped call rates, as stipulated in the Mandatory Standards for Quality of Service.

“We stepped up ESSAT in 2013 due to the numerous complaints and reports received from the public, NGOs and media regarding dropped calls early last year,” MCMC chairman Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi said in a statement.

“We view complaints about telcos very seriously especially for failing to deliver to consumers the service they claimed to offer but any action taken against them must comply with due process under the law.”

The number of compounds issued in that period was six times more than those issued in March 2013.

MCMC also observed that while DiGi reduced dropped call complaints by 89% between January and March 2014, complaints relating to dropped calls had doubled for Maxis during the same period.

“We thank the public for reporting issues such as this to MCMC and urge them to continue to report to their service providers on all issues relating to quality of service, particularly on dropped calls,” said Sharil.

“We also met with the telcos’ CEOs and asked them to put more effort into improving the quality of service within a certain period of time. MCMC made it clear that it will not hesitate to take stern action against the telcos if they failed to comply.

He added that MCMC was considering implementing a star-rating system for telcos so that consumers may make an informed choice about the best service providers.

 

 

source: The Malaysian Insider