Within the framework of the NTRA’s keenness to improve the quality of telecommunication services provided to users, the National Center for Monitoring the Quality of Telecommunications Services of the NTRA issued its report on the results of measurements for the first quarter of 2023 (the period from January to March 2023).
The measurement methodology is based on testing samples of voice calls and data transmission services to determine the quality of communication services provided by operators in the Egyptian market, using measurement equipment and vehicles, as the measurement distances reached 116,000 km on the main and secondary roads of cities and villages during the first quarter of 2023.
In its results, the report relied on measuring the most important indicators of the quality of voice services and the quality of data transmission services, as follows:
Indicators of the quality of voice services:
Call not initiated indicator: This indicates the percentage of call attempts that failed to initiate the call out of the total measurement samples in the area.
Call incomplete indicator: which indicates the percentage of calls that suffered a technical interruption before ending the call out of the total measurement samples in the region.
Time to start the call indicator: which indicates the percentage of calls that take a long time to start the call (seconds) from the time the customer presses the call button until the response by the other party out of the total measurement samples in the area.
Call Voice Quality Index: which indicates the degree of sound purity during the call for the measurement samples in the area.
Indicators of the quality of data transmission services:
Data Download Speed: Data download speed for the lowest 10% of the measurement samples in the area.
Data upload speed: Data upload speed for the lowest 10% of the measurement samples in the area.
The following is the average number of regions in which the quality of voice and data services was affected in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022
An improvement was observed in the average number of areas affected by the quality of voice services by 7% in the first quarter of 2023, reaching 41 affected areas, compared to 44 affected areas in the first quarter of 2022.
An improvement in the average number of areas affected by the quality of data transmission services was observed by 31% in the first quarter of 2023, reaching 18 affected areas compared to 26 affected areas in the first quarter of 2022.
The following are the consumption indicators for a mobile phone in voice and data services in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022
The percentage of voice calls over fourth generation technology (VoLTE) increased by 233% during the first quarter of 2023, reaching 3 billion calls, compared to 895 million calls in the first quarter of 2022.
The average volume of mobile internet usage increased by 23%, reaching 265,000 terabytes during the first quarter of 2023, compared to 216,000 terabytes in the first quarter of 2022.
The voice call service through the fourth generation VoLTE technology is a highly efficient wireless communication technology, as this technology allows the provision of voice calls to subscribers with high quality, especially with regard to the purity and clarity of the voice, without the users incurring any additional cost to the current service price, and the VoLTE technology is activated in the case of Availability of a mobile phone that supports VoLTE, a mobile phone chip that supports 4G technology, and presence in an area where the service operator supports VoLTE technology, and it is automatically turned on in some mobile phone systems that support this technology, while others need to activate the service through the settings.
The following is the total number of regions (cities and neighborhoods) that were monitored to suffer from violations of the quality of voice services indicators in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022:
Vodafone: Out of 81 regions (city and neighborhood) that were subject to measurement tests, an average increase in the number of regions suffering from poor quality of voice service indicators was observed by 5% during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022, to reach 19 affected regions.
Orange: Out of 81 regions (city and neighborhood) that were subject to measurement tests, an average increase in the number of regions suffering from poor quality of voice service indicators was detected by 17% during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022, to reach 27 affected regions.
Etisalat: Out of the 81 regions (city and neighborhood) that were subject to measurement tests, an improvement was observed in the average number of regions that suffer from poor quality of voice service indicators by 52% during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022, to reach 12 affected regions.
Wei: Out of 81 regions (city and neighborhood) that were subject to measurement tests, an increase in the average number of regions that suffer from poor quality indicators of voice services increased by 43% during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same in the first quarter of 2022, to reach 53 affected regions.
The following is the total number of regions (cities and neighborhoods) that were monitored to suffer from excess data services quality indicators in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022:
Vodafone: Out of 81 regions (city and district) that were subject to measurement tests, an improvement was observed in the average number of regions that suffer from poor quality indicators of data transmission services by 63% during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022, to reach 9 affected regions. An improvement in the average data download speed for Vodafone was observed by 28% during March 2023 compared to March 2022.
Orange: Out of 81 regions (city and district) that were subject to measurement tests, an improvement was observed in the average number of regions that suffer from poor quality indicators of data transmission services by 7% during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022, to reach 26 affected regions. An improvement in the average data download speed for Orange was recorded by 24% during March 2023 compared to March 2022.
Etisalat: Out of 81 regions (city and neighborhood) that were subject to measurement tests, an improvement was observed in the average number of regions that suffer from poor quality indicators of data transmission services by 90% during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022, to reach one affected region, An improvement in the average download speed of data for a telecom company was observed by 39% during March 2023 compared to March 2022.
Wei: Out of 81 regions (city and district) that were subject to measurement tests, an improvement was observed in the average number of regions that suffer from poor quality indicators of data transmission services by 20% during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022, to reach 4 affected regions, An improvement in the average data download speed of Wii was observed by 47% during March 2023 compared to March 2022.
Measures taken by the NTRA to raise the level of quality of services provided to users:
1. A fine of 32 million pounds for mobile service providers
The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority fined mobile service providers an amount of 32 million Egyptian pounds for exceeding the standards and determinants of the quality of mobile services during the first quarter of 2023.
2. Approval of 823 new mobile terminals since the beginning of 2023
The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has approved 823 new stations since the beginning of 2023, with an increase of 5% compared to the same period in 2022. The NTRA has also implemented small coverage stations on top of lighting poles in Greater Cairo to overcome coverage obstacles in places where it is not possible to establish stations. It contributes to improving the quality standards of telecommunications services and the ability to absorb the increasing volume of traffic in the Egyptian market.
3. Implementation of judicial seizures in 14 governorates to improve the quality of services provided
The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) implemented judicial seizures in 14 governorates during the first quarter of 2023 to remove (153) interference points with a total of (140) unapproved network reinforcement devices and (455) network reinforcement antennas, which negatively affect the quality of service.
The agency also seized one of the largest companies importing illegal network amplifiers in the city of Mansoura, Dakahlia Governorate, where 118 illegal amplifiers and 300 antennas were seized. Mobile illegal and imported without a license.