Move underway to regulate service quality
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NBTC in preparation for full 3G era
The telecom committee of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission is drafting regulations for mobile data service quality to protect subscribers and prepare the industry for the full 3G cellular broadband era.
The move is in response to the sharp rise of mobile data consumption of 200-300 per cent per month, Settapong Malisuwan, chairman of the telecom committee, said yesterday.
The regulations are also aimed at coping with the expected higher demand for mobile data services after telecom operators win licences to provide 3G-2.1GHz cellular broadband service. The NBTC is expected to auction the licences by the third quarter.
The draft of the regulations is expected to be completed soon, he said.
The NBTC only has regulations for voice service quality, which will also be amended, said Takorn Tantasit, the NBTC secretary-general.
The NBTC will revise voice service regulations to require telecom operators to inform the NBTC in advance every time they make a change to their networks that might affect customers.
The NBTC would notify all telecom operators today that they have to take utmost precautions when making any change to networks to prevent possible inconvenience to customers, he said.
Total Access Communications (DTAC) has been struck by network problems three times during the past 20 days, which caused its customers to experience difficulty in placing calls.
The House consumer protection committee will summon the NBTC and DTAC tomorrow to explain DTAC’s network failures.
Takorn said that in the future, the NBTC would not only examine the overall countrywide service quality of telecom operators but also delve into specific areas.
Settapong said the NBTC will conduct tests again to gather information on the telecom operators’ overall service quality for cross checking with their information. The NBTC cannot order them to improve their networks if the watchdog cannot show solid proof that their service quality is poor.
Telecom operators have hesitated about investing more in their 2G networks, since they want to save cash for bidding on the 2.1GHz licences and installing the new 3G networks, he added.
Information and Communications Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap will invite all cellular operators and the NBTC to discuss overall problems of call quality this week.
Takorn said the NBTC would ask DTAC to give more information about the glitch at its Surat Thani mobile switching centre on January 5.
The NBTC staff examined the problem at DTAC’s mobile switching centre in Surat Thani on Sunday after DTAC customers in seven southern provinces faced calling difficulties last Thursday.
DTAC has explained to the NBTC that the switching centre underperformed on Thursday, causing calling problems for its subscribers in the South and some in other provinces. DTAC restored the system on the same day.
The NBTC staff’s inspection found that DTAC’s Surat Thani staff took care of only the hardware, while the software system is controlled from DTAC’s head office in Bangkok.
