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The new service standards are now officially implemented and will allow Telecom Regulator; Bureau Telecommunications and Post St. Maarten (BTP), to quantitatively measure Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) of Telecommunication Services that are being rendered to residents of St. Maarten. The performance indicators are mostly focusing on bandwidth, through put, drop call rate, set-up time, success rate, error rates, transmission delays and signal strength.
With the implementation of these new QoS/ QoE standards Minister Connor takes a major step in the improvement of Telecom Networks on the island and Telecom services that are offered to end-users. He stated that “all levels and areas of service on St Maarten, must be based on defined standards and these standards must be measurable in order to be effectiveâ€. The QoS and QoE are aimed to ensure that all consumers receives what is promisedâ€. Minister Connor furthermore stated that "a promise made should be kept’, and it is government's duty to ensure that its regulators, in this case Bureau Telecommunications and Post is equipped with the necessary instruments to measure performances. This way the citizens and visitors alike will be assured that they are receiving the highest possible quality of service from our telecom providers. And that can only add to a high quality of experienceâ€.
Director of BTP, Mr. Anthony Carty expressed the importance of the Quality of Service document for the regulator in this process. “We now have a document which we can apply across the board for telecom services on St. Maarten, and by same hold service providers accountable for the level of service provided. To measure and manage performance, additional modern measurement equipment will be acquired. As the regulator for telecommunications services, we have the responsibility to ensure consumer satisfaction and to create a level playing field, by enabling fair competition among telecommunications operators in the industryâ€.
COO Mr. Giovanni King, who was instrumental in developing the service standards, stated: “with the liberalization of the telecommunications market and the ongoing technological developments in the sector, measuring of quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) have become important concepts. Measuring and improving QoS and QoE, though challenging, should be undertaken in order to assess the most accurate and complete vision of the value offered by network providers to consumersâ€.
With the signing of the QoS/QoE documents the Minister has given BTP the means by which to evaluate to what extend the networks operators of St. Maarten are providing the consumers with value for money. Operators will be given a year to make the necessary amendments to their networks in order to be in compliance with the QoS/QoE values as outlined in the aforementioned document.
