Manager/Consumer Affairs Communications Commission of Kenya ITU-T Workshop on Delivering Good Quality Telecommunication Service in a Safe Environment in Africa (Nairobi, Kenya, 26 July – 27 July 2010 ) QOS/QOE As a Function of Customer Satisfaction and Retention : A Regulator’s Perspective Liston Kirui, Manager/Consumer Affairs Communications Commission of Kenya Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27July 2010

Customer QoS Expectations Table of contents Introduction Customer QoS Expectations QoS/QOE Expectations- Individual Users QoS/QOE Expectations- Corporate customers Role of the Customer Role of the Regulator Recommendations Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010

Customer is King still rings true Introduction Customer is King still rings true Demand for high QoS placed great pressure on all providers Challenges in deployment of desirable QoS Customers unaware of what it takes to provide Quality Services – simply expect high QoS Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010

Customers QoS Expectations Access to services Increased access to services Fixed line decline/marginal growth Mobile service Submarine cables Increased Internet Access Quality of Service QoS/QoE Customer Service Service availability Service Accessibility Care services Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010

Customer QOS Expectations Factors driving User preferences Age of customer Socio-economic group Peer influence Increased use/interest in social networks Business requirements Inovations Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010

QoS/QOE Expectations- Individual Users Internet service High contention Ratios (xDSL/other shared) Low internet speeds SMS Service SMS delays Store and forward as opposed to real time Non-delivery of messages Billing integrity/Accuracy Lack of itemized bills Itemized bill- Charge imposed Terminal Equipment Poor Quality – Cottage ICT industries Information made available by retailers Call center Services Poor call centre response rates Inaccessibility of call centers Voice Call Quality Differing voice quality Measurement of voice quality required Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010

QoS/QOE Expectations- Corporate Customer characteristics High demand for voice services Data services (WANs) Internet services Services have predominantly provided via fixed services , which are prone to: Aging copper infrastructure Vandalism & thus frequent service outages etc Provisioning delays Move towards use of mobile and wireless access services Increasingly vital Services for corporations provision of value added services e-commerce online services accessibility by customers Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010

QoS/QOE Expectations- Corporate Customers Voice Communication services Network congestion & poor coverage Voice quality Vandalism & thus frequent service outages etc Provisioning delays Network/Service Availability Poor availability/accessibility leads to interruption of services such as E-commerce WAN Web presence Internet services Low internet speeds High contention ratios Skewed SLA’s Information not provided on contention ratios Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010

Make careful, well informed decisions Role of the Customer Be well-informed by Reading marketing information provided by service providers Seek expert opinion from other sources Seek information from regulators, as a neutral source of advisory information Make careful, well informed decisions Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010

Set Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) Role of the Regulator Set Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) Mobile services Completed calls Call set up Success rate Dropped calls Blocked calls Speech quality (MoS, PESQ) Call set up time Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010

Role of the Regulator…/2 Inform consumers of their rights and responsibilities with regard to QOS Protect the rights of consumers with regard to the quality of Service Encourage, and where necessary, compel service providers to adopt acceptable business practices Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010

For enhanced customer retention, Service providers need to: Recommendations For enhanced customer retention, Service providers need to: Prioritize QoE as much as QoS Provide sufficient information to customers (Transparency in service provision) Minimum QoS targets Price information Description of the service Customer helpline Options and standards Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010

Regulators in the region Recommendations…/2 Manufactures Equipment standards to deliver Service standards Regulators in the region Need for shift in focus from Availability to Reliability Determine standards for broadband services Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010

Thank You Nairobi, Kenya, 26 – 27 July 2010