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Consumers generally satisfied with telephony, broadband services: IDA [Emirates News Agency (WAM) (United Arab Emirates)]
[October 20, 2014]

Consumers generally satisfied with telephony, broadband services: IDA [Emirates News Agency (WAM) (United Arab Emirates)]


(Emirates News Agency (WAM) (United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Consumers were generally satisfied with the range of telephony and broadband services on offer here, whether it was quality of service, price competitiveness and variety of services, a new survey by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) showed.



Ratings of above 3.5 for the three indicators for fixed line telephone, mobile telephone, fixed broadband and mobile broadband services were registered in the latest Consumer Awareness and Satisfaction Survey, the IDA said in its press release on Monday (Oct 20). The rating scale range between 1 and 5 (very satisfied).

In terms of awareness, the survey said consumers display a high level of awareness regarding the terms of telecom services in Singapore, which would help them avoid incurring unnecessary fees and charges. For example, 94 per cent of subscribers to mobile telephone services, 80 per cent of subscribers to fixed broadband services and 94 per cent of subscribers to mobile broadband services were aware of early termination charges.


Consumers were also knowledgeable about mobile data roaming terms and conditions, IDA noted. About 69 per cent of mobile broadband subscribers were aware of the international mobile roaming charges of their telcos, while 82 per cent were aware of the local data usage bill cap that would be applicable to their mobile data services.

WAITING TIME FOR HOTLINE CALLS NEEDS WORK The survey showed that in terms of customer care provided by the three major telcos, respondents were generally less satisfied with hotline waiting time compared to other aspects such as time taken to resolve complaints and competency of customer service officer.

About 33 per cent of respondents suggested that service providers should look into reducing the waiting time for such hotline calls, the survey revealed. This was despite satisfaction with hotline waiting calls improving since 2010 for all three telcos, IDA added.

"It is encouraging to know that consumers are generally satisfied with telecom services in Singapore. Nevertheless, service providers should continue to place emphasis on customer engagement and servicing as one of the key retention strategies, said Mr Leong Keng Thai, IDA Deputy Chief Executive and Director General (Telecoms and Post).

Service providers should look beyond traditional customer service solutions such as telephone hotlines and be innovative, such as using live chat software solutions, to shorten waiting time and boost customer satisfaction, he added.

The CASS 2014 polled 1,500 individuals from households across Singapore via door-to-door interviews between Dec 26, 2013 and Mar 14, 2014. Respondents had to be a Singapore citizen or Permanent Resident (PR) aged 18 and above, and a resident of the household. Feedback on newer operators such as MyRepublic and ViewQwest was also received during the survey, but due to the small sample sizes, they are omitted in this report.

(c) 2014 Emirates News Agency (WAM) Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

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