10th March 2023, Kathmandu
The voice service quality test conducted by the Nepal Telecommunication Authority at various locations in Kathmandu Valley found Ncell’s service to be satisfactory.
It is seen that Ncell’s voice service is better than Nepal Telecom and Smart. However, even Ncell could not cut the threshold of the authority.
The authority conducted a driving test at various locations in Kathmandu from January 20th to 24th. Voice service quality testing was conducted in Gwarko, Koteshwar, Old Sinamangal, Naya Basti-Buddha, Chabhil, Gaushala, Sifal, Hadigaon, Kapan, Dhumbarahi, Barfedi, Bhangal, Hattigonda, and Budhanilkanth areas.
The authority has tested operators’ call success rate (call setup success rate), phone call time (call setup time), and grade of service (call block rate). And call drop rate.
Smartcell has the weakest service in these locations. According to the authority, the service of Smartcell is the weakest. Because the government has not paid dues according to the service operating conditions.
Smart’s phone call success rate (call setup success rate) is only 26.39 percent. While the authority has set a threshold of 99.99 percent or more. The phone call time (call setup time) of Smart is also 11.93 seconds. While the authority has stipulated that the call should be set up in 5 seconds or less.
Smart’s grade of service (call block rate) is 73.6 percent. The authority has set the threshold to be 2 percent or less.
Similarly, government-owned Nepal Telecom’s phone call success rate (call setup success rate) is 88.78 percent. The duration of a phone call (call setup time) is 6.97 seconds. Telecom’s grade of service (call block rate) is 11.21 percent.
For the last few months, due to not changing the billing system, the telecom time has been interrupted several times. Because of this, even in this test of authority, Telecom is not able to cut the threshold.
Similarly, Ncell Nepal Telecom and Smart, both private-sector telecommunication service providers, are perceived to be of higher quality. However, even Ncell has not been able to maintain the quality of voice service according to the threshold set by the authority.
Ncell’s phone call success rate (call setup success rate) is 93.69 percent higher than other operators. The phone call time (call setup time) is also more than others at 5.18 seconds. Ncell’s grade of service (call block rate) is 6.3 percent.
According to the authority, all three operators have succeeded in only one index. The call drop rate is zero percent of all. The authority has stipulated that the threshold of call drop rate should be 2 percent or less.
According to the test report, the authority has also given instructions to Ncell, Nepal Telecom, and Smartcell. To improve the quality standards and inform them.
According to the authority, the data of the main service standards of the mobile network will be collected in the drive test method by making continuous phone calls or using data from the test equipment installed on the running vehicle.
The authority has stated unequivocally that the quality of all service providers available at any given location will be measured in parallel and at the same time.
According to reports, the device will automatically select the best network (2G/3G/4G) available at any location of each service provider.
The Authority states that the call test lasts 120 seconds. And that local calls are made within the service provider’s network.
What is a driving test?
This method collects data on the main service standards of the mobile network while measuring the quality of telecommunications service providers by making continuous phone calls or using data through the test equipment installed on the running vehicle.
The quality of all service providers available at any given location is measured simultaneously and in parallel. Devices are configured in such a way that the best network (4G/3G/2G) available at any one location of each service provider is automatically selected.
