Tuesday January 11, 5:58 pm Eastern Time
Mexico's Cofetel begins cellphone quality control
MEXICO CITY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Mexico's telecommunications watchdog this week began to monitor cellphone call quality in the capital, where crowded networks have meant bad service for cellular customers in recent months.
Beginning in March, cellphone firms that fall short of quality standards will have to give customers refunds or free minutes of service, Jorge Nicolin, president of the Federal Telecommunications Commission (Cofetel) said on Tuesday.
Making 12,000 calls a month, the monitoring program will measure the number of dropped calls, how long it takes for a call to get through and other quality standards.
Mexico's cellular phone industry boomed last year, with the number of users nationwide leaping more than 100 percent during the year, to more than seven million, Nicolin said.
The rush of new customers clogged existing networks and many users complained of constant busy signals and dropped calls.
Because of the complaints Cofetel established standards for the two major cellphone operators in the capital, Telcel, the country's biggest cellphone company, and a unit of dominant Mexican phone operator Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) (NYSE:TMX - news), and number two cellular firm Iusacell (NYSE:CEL - news).
Both Telcel and Iusacell told Reuters recently they had solved any service problems they had and were operating well within the standards set by Cofetel. |
