Of the telecommunications complaints filed in the third quarter, 85 percent were about mobile networks — up 20 percent from the previous quarter — and 65 percent of those were about connection quality, data released on Sunday by the National Communications Commission (NCC) showed.
The commission received 1,506 complaints about mobile networks — 85.91 percent of the telecommunications complaints filed in the third quarter, a rate much higher than for fixed networks or Type II telecom services, the data showed.
Type II businesses are telecoms that offer services via networks constructed by Type I businesses such as Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone Telecommunications.
Only 1,295 complaints about mobile networks were filed in the second quarter, while 1,653 were filed in the third quarter of last year, the data showed.
Of the third-quarter complaints, 548 (36.39 percent) were filed against Chunghwa Telecom, followed by 279 (18.53 percent) against Taiwan Mobile, 262 (17.4 percent) against Far EastTone Telecommunications, 228 (15.14 percent) against Taiwan Star Telecom and 189 (12.55 percent) against Asia Pacific Telecom, the data showed.
The third-quarter complaints included 988 (65 percent) about connection quality, followed by 147 complaints (9.76 percent) about starting, changing or renewing a telecom contract, and 49 complaints (3.25 percent) about customer service interactions over a network issue, the data showed.
A further breakdown of the data showed that Chunghwa Telecom received the most complaints about connection quality (438 complaints, or 44.33 percent), while Taiwan Star Telecom received the most about starting or changing a contract (44 complaints, or 29.93 percent).
The commission said that it has instructed telecoms to conduct customer surveys in areas where poor connection quality was reported and to develop improvement plans.
Regular meetings to discuss solutions are to be held with telecoms, it said, adding that customers experiencing uncharacteristically poor connections would receive a discounted monthly fee or a reduced penalty for a contract cancelation.
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