Maritime Telegraph & Telephone
Company

Quality of Service Statistics

1998


Source: CRTC website
http://199.246.230.7/ENG/PROC_REP/TELECOM/1998/8660/98qs_ixa.htm

MT&T is required to report these statistics to the CRTC within 45 calendar days after the end of each quarter.

Index:



QSI 1.1
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

1.1




Indicator 1.1: Provisioning Interval
The official definition

The number of days required to provide service (for example, connecting a telephone for someone who has moved) from the date of the customer's request. The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is



Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 1.1 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1.1A Urban 90% or more na na na na na na na na na na na na
1.1B Rural 90% or more 96% 98% 98% 98% 98% 98%


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.
"na" means Not Available





QSI 1.2
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

1.2




Indicator 1.2: Installation Appointments Met
The official definition

A record is to be maintained by the telephone company, of the total number of appointments booked and the number of these appointments completed on the appointed date. The reported number will be the number of appointments completed on the appointed date expressed as a percentage of the total number of appointments booked. The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is


Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 1.2 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1.2A Urban 90% or more na na na na na na na na na na na na
1.2B Rural 90% or more 91% 93% 94% 94% 92% 92%


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.
"na" means Not Available





QSI 1.3
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

1.3




Indicator 1.3: Held Orders per 100 Network Access Services Inward Movement
The official definition

With reasonable accuracy, this Indicator can be described as the number of outstanding requests for a new customer telephone line which were not met on the due date because of facility shortages, expressed as a percentage of total number of such requests. [For most purposes, a "Network Access Service" simply means a customer line. My telephone line is counted as a Network Access Service, because it gives me access to the telephone network.] The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is


Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 1.3 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1.3A Urban 3.3% or less na na na na na na na na na na na na
1.3B Rural 3.3% or less 0.3% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2%


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.
"na" means Not Available





QSI 1.4
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

1.4




Indicator 1.4: Held Upgrades per 100 Upgrade Requests - Rural
The official definition

To be reported only by telephone companies with party lines in rural areas. (In 1998, MT&T does have some party lines in rural areas.) The intent of this indicator is to report the number of rural outstanding requests for higher grades of service (for example, from 4-party to 2-party service, or from party line to private line) unfilled for more than 30 days. The Measurement Method will be a count of rural held upgrades (that is, unfilled requests for upgrades) taken at the end of each month, and those held more than 30 days are calculated as a percentage of all upgrade requests (new requests plus requests unfilled from the previous month). The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is



MT&T Comment (File MTT-E.DOC)
Indicator 1.4: Held Upgrades per 100 Upgrade Requests

Quality of Service reporting for Upgrades is being tracked by the Company's adherence to the CRTC approved Service Improvement Plan.



Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 1.4 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1.4 Rural 53.0% or less na na na na na na na na na na na na


"na" means Not Applicable





QSI 1.5
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

1.5




Indicator 1.5: Access to Business Office
The official definition

The reported number is the percentage of all incoming calls to the company business office which are answered in 20 seconds or less. This Indicator is reported for the whole company (Urban and Rural are not separated, because these calls are all handled in one central office irrespective of where the calls originate). The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is


Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 1.5 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1.5 U & R 80% or more 67% 80% 68% 70% 65% 76%


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.
"U & R" means Urban and Rural combined





QSI 1.6
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

1.6




Indicator 1.6: Competitor Installation Appointments Met
The official definition

A record will be kept by the telephone company of the total number of installation appointments booked and the number met. The reported number is number of those met, expressed as a percentage of the total number booked for customers who are also competitors. The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is



MT&T Comment (File MTT-E.DOC)
Indicator 1.6: Installation Appointments Met (Competitors)

Results not available. No methodology currently exists by which MT&T can separate installation requests by competitors from those of other customers. The results for this Indicator are included with Indicator 1.2.



Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 1.6 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1.6 U & R 90% or more na na na na na na


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.

"na" means Not Available
"U & R" means Urban and Rural combined





QSI 1.7
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

1.7




Indicator 1.7: On-Time Activation of PICs for Alternate Providers of Long Distance Service (APDLS)
The official definition

PIC activation is the provisioning process whereby the incumbent telephone companies switch a customer's long distance service over to a competitor, when requested to do so. The service provisioning interval should be two business days for routine PIC activation and 11 to 16 days for complex services such as Centrex and Megalink. The measurement is performed by sorting completed PIC requests to determine the actual number and percentage completed per MT&T's PIC/CARE Access Customer Handbook which is approved by the CRTC. The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is


Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 1.7 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1.7 U & R 90% or more 93% 92% 91% 76% 92% 89%


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.
"U & R" means Urban and Rural combined





QSI 2.1
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

2.1




Indicator 2.1: Out-of-Service Trouble Reports Cleared Within 24 Hours
The official definition

The telephone company will keep records of Initial Out-of-Service Trouble Reports, and of those cleared within 24 hours. The reported number is the number cleared within 24 hours expressed as a percentage of the total. [An Initial Out-of-Service Trouble Report is a report indicating improper functioning of service on which there was no outstanding trouble report. That is, repeat reports of the same problem will not be counted, for the purpose of this Indicator.] The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is


Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 2.1 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2.1A Urban 80% or more na na na na na na na na na na na na
2.1B Rural 80% or more 70% 69% 59% 75% 73% 71%


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.
"na" means Not Available





QSI 2.2
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

2.2




Indicator 2.2: Repair Appointments Met
The official definition

The telephone company will keep records of repair appointments made. The reported number is the number met expressed as a percentage of the total. The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is


Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 2.2 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2.2A Urban 90% or more na na na na na na na na na na na na
2.2B Rural 90% or more 88% 87% 82% 87% 87% 87%


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.
"na" means Not Available





QSI 2.3
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

2.3




Indicator 2.3: Initial Customer Trouble Reports per 100 Network Access Services
The official definition

An Initial Customer Trouble Report is a report of a trouble from a customer indicating improper functioning of service on which there was no outstanding trouble report. The telephone company will calculate the total number of initial trouble reports (excluding duplicate and multiple reports of the same problem). The reported number is this total expressed as a percentage of NAS in service. [For most purposes, a "Network Access Service" simply means a customer line in service. My telephone line is counted as a Network Access Service, because it gives me access to the telephone network. A report of 4.0% means that, in the month of the report, 4 customer lines out of 100 encountered trouble.] The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is


Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 2.3 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2.3A Urban 5% or less na na na na na na na na na na na na
2.3B Rural 5% or less 2% 2% 3% 2% 2% 2%


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.

"na" means either Not Available or Not Applicable
"U & R" means Urban and Rural combined





QSI 2.4
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

2.4




Indicator 2.4: Community Isolation
The official definition

Community Isolation means the isolation of a community from the provincial telephone network resulting from the failure of a trunk line. [For example, one of the more common causes of this kind of failure is when a backhoe digs into the main trunk cable into a town, thus cutting the town off from all outside calls, incoming and outgoing. This counts as a Community Isolation event. During such an event, often it happens that telephone service remains in operation for calls within the town. Anyone in the town can call anyone else in the town, but nowhere outside.] The reported number is the count of such events that last one hour or more. The CRTC does not set a standard for this Indicator, because the reported number is simply the total count of communities isolated during the reporting month. Community Isolation incidents will be reported for the whole company, in three categories:


Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 2.4 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2.4A 1 - 3 6 0 5 3 3
2.4B 2 - 0 0 0 0 0 0
2.4C 3 - 0 0 0 0 0 0




QSI 2.5
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

2.5




Indicator 2.5: Access to Repair Office
The official definition

The reported number is the percentage of all incoming calls to the company repair office which are answered in 20 seconds or less. This Indicator is reported for the whole company (Urban and Rural are not separated, because these calls are all handled in one central office irrespective of where the calls originate). The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is


Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 2.5 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2.5 U & R 80% or more 70% 66% 45% 59% 81% 77%


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.
"U & R" means Urban and Rural combined





QSI 2.6
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

2.6




Indicator 2.6: Competitor Repair Appointments Met
The official definition

The telephone company will keep records of the repair appointments booked and those met, and will have means of identifying which of these appointments are for customers who are also competitors. The reported number is the percentage of appointments met expressed as a percentage of the total number booked, for customers who are also competitors. Completed orders are sorted to determine the actual number booked, and the number completed on the appointed date. This Indicator is reported for the whole company (Urban and Rural are not separated). The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is



MT&T Comment (File MTT-E.DOC)
Indicator 2.6: Repair Appointments Met (Competitors)

Results not available. No methodology currently exists by which MT&T can separate repair requests by competitors from those of other customers. The results for this Indicator are included with Indicator 2.2.



Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 2.6 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2.6 U & R 90% or more na na na na na na


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.
"U & R" means Urban and Rural combined





QSI 3.1
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

3.1




Indicator 3.1: Dial Tone Delay
The official definition

The reported number is the percentage of attempted calls experiencing dial tone delay of three seconds or less. This Indicator is measured during the company's busiest hour of the month, and is reported for the whole company (Urban and Rural are not separated). Dial tone delay recorders are used by the company to determine the percentage of occasions on which all lines in an exchange are busy, and thus dial tone delay is experienced by customers. (While reports of this Indicator over the last few years -- by the three companies then reporting these statistics, Bell, BC Tel, and Northwestel -- have consistently reported scores of 99% or higher, the CRTC is concerned that widespread use of Internet services may cause congestion in the future. Such congestion, if it occurs, will be seen at an early stage in the progressive deterioration of this Indicator.) The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is


Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 3.1 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
3.1 U & R 98.5% or more 99.9% 99.9% 99.9% 99.8% 99.8% 99.8%


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.
"U & R" means Urban and Rural combined





QSI 4.1
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

4.1




Indicator 4.1: Directory Accuracy
The official definition

The reported number is the percentage of customer listings in the white pages of printed-on-paper (as distinct from electronic) company directories published without errors or omissions. The measurement will be performed by counting the number of errors discovered by the company, or reported to the company by customers, monthly. Cumulative data are expressed as a percentage of total white page listings for each publication period (typically, one year). The interim (1998) service quality standard set by the CRTC is



MT&T Comment (File MTT-E.DOC)
Indicator 4.1: Directory Accuracy

Accuracy results are measured after the issuance of each directory. The results reported are the latest available and will be updated as subsequent directories are issued.



Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 4.1 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group CRTC
Standard		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
4.1 U & R 93.8% or more 99.9% 99.9% 99.9% 99.9% 99.9% 99.9%


Items which do not meet the standard are shown on a yellow background.
"U & R" means Urban and Rural combined





QSI 5.1
Quality of Service Indicator
for Telephone Companies

5.1




Indicator 5.1: Customer Complaints
The official definition

The reported number is the number of customer complaints delivered (in written or oral form) to Officers and Department Heads of the telephone company and the CRTC. The number of complaints is divided into seven subcategories. The number of complaints in each category is reported, and the total is given. Because this is simply a count of the number of complaints, the CRTC does not set a standard to be met.


Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company

Quality of Service Indicator 5.1 as reported by MT&T to the CRTC

Year 1998

QSI Group Service
Category		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
5.1A1 Urban Provisioning na na na na na na na na na na na na
5.1B1 Rural Provisioning 0.000 0.000 0.000
5.1A2 Urban Repair na na na na na na na na na na na na
5.1B2 Rural Repair 0.000 0.000 0.000
5.1A3 Urban Local Service na na na na na na na na na na na na
5.1B3 Rural Local Service 0.001 0.001 0.001
5.1A4 Urban Long Distance na na na na na na na na na na na na
5.1B4 Rural Long Distance 0.000 0.000 0.000
5.1A5 Urban Operator Service na na na na na na na na na na na na
5.1B5 Rural Operator Service 0.000 0.000 0.000
5.1A6 Urban Directory Service na na na na na na na na na na na na
5.1B6 Rural Directory Service 0.000 0.000 0.000
5.1A7 Urban Billing Service na na na na na na na na na na na na
5.1B7 Rural Billing Service 0.000 0.000 0.000
5.1A Urban Total na na na na na na na na na na na na
5.1B Rural Total 0.001 0.002 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001


"na" means Not Available



ICS Comment:
It appears that Indicator 5.1 does not track all complaints made by customers. A phone call to the clerk answering the phone at the company business office will not be counted. If the customer wants his/her complaint to be counted in these statistics, he/she has to see to it the complaint is delivered to the right place in the right way. If you want to be sure your complaint gets counted in these statistics, the best way is to follow the plain-language advice provided by the CRTC on How To File A Telecommunications Complaint.




Explanatory Notes

Explanatory Notes
Quality of Service Indicators
for Telephone Companies

Quarterly Reports Required


It's a good question.

How do you measure quality, in the services industry?

How can you get an objective measure of the quality of a service?

For example, how can you get an objective measure of the quality of the service supplied by a telephone company?

The CRTC has decided it, and the public, need good, solid, reliable information about the quality of service supplied by the various telephone companies. It has developed a method (they call it a monitoring model) called the Quality of Service reporting requirements which can be used to obtain such information.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) monitors the quality of service of all telephone companies under its jurisdiction, including Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company. On 24 July 1997, the CRTC released Decision 97-16 on Quality of Service reporting requirements in the telephone industry. The CRTC rejected the proposal for customer rebates for below-standard service. Instead, Maritime Telegraph & Telephone, and all other telephone companies with more than 25,000 subscribers are required, beginning on 1 January 1998, to submit quarterly reports -- to be filed within 45 days of the end of each quarter -- of monthly performance against objectives set for a number of service indicators in four areas of customer contact: The quarterly reports, made during 1998, are to be based on the CRTC standards for the monitoring model as laid out in Appendix A to Decision 97-16. This monitoring model is established on an interim basis until 31 December 1998. A set of national quality of service standards will be finalized, to be effective 1 January 1999.

Reporting of service performance in three areas: will no longer be required. However, each telephone company will be required to report Customer Complaints in all the seven areas of customer contact for service.

ICS Comment:
There is some confusion about the numbering of these reporting categories. This confusion originates with the CRTC.
  • Category 1 refers to Service Provisioning
  • Category 2 refers to Repair Service
  • Category 3 refers to Local Service
  • Category 4 refers to Long Distance Service in some contexts, but to Directory Service in other contexts. For example, CRTC Decision 97-16 refers to "Interface #4: Long Distance Service" but Appendix A to CRTC Decision 97-16, which contains the CRTC's definitions of Telephone Company Quality of Service Indicators, has a prominent heading "Interface 4: Directory Services."
  • Category 6 in MT&T's reporting spreadsheet MTT.XLS refers to Directory Service, which the CRTC defines as Interface 4 in Appendix A.


Because this confusion exists within the CRTC's own documents, there is no way for me to eliminate the ambiguity. The best I can do is to follow their usage in each context, and include this note to alert the reader to this problem.


The Commission noted that the cost of maintaining quality of service is greater in rural areas than in urban areas because of the distances that have to be travelled and the human resources required to provide and repair service. The Commission also noted that persistent problems with rural service quality would not be as noticeable under a company-wide reporting system because the number of quality of service problems reported would be spread over the total base of urban and rural subscribers. Further, competitive market forces are less likely to be a disciplining factor in rural areas. Accordingly, the Commission considered separate reporting of rural and urban service indicators to be appropriate. The Commission noted, however, that there is a common delivery system for Operator Services and Billing. Therefore, the telephone companies will be required to report separately for Provisioning and Repair service. With regard to establishing an appropriate delineation between urban and rural areas, the Commission approved, on an interim basis, Stentor's proposed rate bands for local loops based on length and density. The Commission noted that the smaller, less dense exchanges were generally characterized as constituting Bands C and D by Stentor. The Commission decided that for MT&T the use of rate bands is an appropriate classification for the reporting of rural and urban subscribers. Bands A and B will be considered to be urban areas, and Bands C and D will be considered to represent rural areas.

With respect to Interface #4: Long Distance Service, the Commission noted that, with the proliferation of optical fibre, carrying capacity of the intertoll telephone network has substantially exceeded current usage. Also, excellent voice quality is attained with digital technology. Tone dialing, common channel signalling (CCS7) and digital switches provide almost instant dial tone. Therefore, the Commission concludes that the Interface dealing with Long Distance Service no longer needs to be monitored, except in areas without competitive service providers. For those areas, the Commission will track the number of complaints under the Interface: Complaints, where Long Distance is reported as a separate category.

With respect to Interface #7: Billing, the Commission noted that with the high degree of computerization, billing errors are not expected to be a serious problem with consistent 99% to 100% accuracy reported by the telephone companies. On the other hand, customer caused adjustments are becoming increasingly frequent as more and more enhanced services are tried and cancelled by subscribers. Because the percentage of bills showing adjustments are no longer indicative of the telephone companies' faulty accounting, the Commission concluded that the Interface dealing with Billing no longer needs to be monitored. The Commission will, however, track the number of complaints under the Interface: Complaints, where Billing is reported as a separate category.

The Commission noted that, depending on the severity of quality deterioration, regulatory responses to inadequate telephone service quality could range from increasing the frequency of reporting from quarterly to monthly and demanding a plan of action, to progressively more severe measures, such as requiring customer-specific rebates, a general rebate, or a downward adjustment to the price cap index. An explanation of below-standard performance, if necessary, is to be filed concurrent with the filing of a quarterly report which is filed 45 days after the end of the quarter.

The Commission noted that it began receiving electronic filings with respect to its telecommunications activities on 1 January 1996 and since then has successfully received over 22,000 documents filed electronically, mostly by Stentor and its members. The Commission considers that, once all telephone companies are familiar with the process, they will be able to file the quality of service reports in electronic format.

[Source: http://www.bell.ca/bell/eng/library/nr/97/sb97e69.htm and the on-line CRTC Telecommunications Archive at http://www.crtc.gc.ca/ENG/English.htm (under the heading Archival: Telecommunications Decisions, notices and orders from January 1984).]



Three Examples of
Telephone Service Quality Indicators
to be Reported to the CRTC


One example of a reporting item is
Indicator 2.5: Access To Repair Bureau: The interim service quality standard set by the CRTC is that at least 80% of calls to a repair bureau should be answered in 20 seconds or less. This item is to be reported for the entire company -- not separated into urban and rural components -- because these calls are all centrally handled irrespective of where the calls originate.

Another example of a reporting item is
Indicator 3.1: Dial Tone Delay: The interim service quality standard set by the CRTC is that at least 98.5% of attempted calls during the busy hour should receive a dial tone in three seconds or less. (While BC TEL, Bell and Northwestel have consistently reported scores of 99% to 100%, the Commission is concerned that widespread use of Internet services may cause congestion in the future.)

One more example of a reporting item is
Indicator 4.1: Directory Accuracy: The interim service quality standard set by the CRTC is that at least 93.8% of customer listings in the white pages of company directories should be published without errors or omissions. The Measurement Method for this is to be the number of errors discovered by the company, or reported to the company by subscribers for each publication period.



This data is presented here for your information only.
Care has been taken to transcribe the data accurately.
However, in case of differences, the official version shall prevail.




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Latest revision: 1998 September 02