All five of the nation’s major telecoms would be required to disclose their mobile Internet speeds and other important service information on their Web sites by January next year, after the National Communications Commission (NCC) announces the “Service Items and Formats of Service Quality Assessment for Telecommunications” (電信服務品質項目及格式) next month.
The service items and formats to be used by telecoms for self-evaluating their mobile communication services were approved at the weekly commissioners’ meeting last week based on Article 18 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法).
The commission said that telecoms with an annual sales revenue of more than NT$100 million (US$3.5 million) would have to start conducting self-evaluations and disclosing key service information by January after it announces the items and formats required next month.
Service items to be disclosed by the telecoms — Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone Telecommunications, Asia Pacific Telecom and Taiwan Star Telecom — are divided into six categories: download speeds and coverage of the mobile phone services they offer; telecom service rates and accuracy of subscribers’ billing information; diverse and toll-free customer services; time required to respond to or handle subscribers’ complaints; results of customer service surveys; and mechanisms to protect subscribers’ personal data.
Commission spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said that telecoms should evaluate their services annually based on the criteria stated in the six categories.
When disclosing speeds and coverage of mobile communication services, telecoms should reveal the number of base stations in each locality, but are not required to disclose their exact locations, he said.
The commission has stipulated quantifying standards for certain items that telecoms should meet in their self-evaluations, Wong said.
Mobile communications services should be activated within two hours after applications are completed, whereas landlines should be activated within two days, he said.
Meanwhile, the accuracy of the billing information should be at least 99.85 percent, and customer service representatives should answer phone calls from subscribers within 35 seconds, Wong said.
If telecoms receive written complaints, they are obligated to respond in writing within 15 days, he added.
“We would conduct inspections to check the authenticity of the service information they disclose online. If they exaggerate, they could be fined NT$500,000 to NT$5 million for failing to follow their network construction plans, based on the Telecommunications Management Act,” Wong said.
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