More flexible quality-of-service targets are among the changes countenanced by Antônio Carlos Valente, deputy director-general of Anatel, in the reformulated business model for the ILECs now under discussion prior to license renewal. The aim is to reduce telcos? operating costs, enabling them to charge customers less and increase penetration among low-income households, he said. Mr Valente was speaking at the 29th Futurecom in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina. The conference ends Thursday, October 31.
VoIP
Voice-over-IP is only one of several technological solutions that reduce operating costs, Mr Valente said. VoIP is a relatively new application and may not immediately achieve the same high quality as conventional switched-circuit voice services, he admitted, but this drawback should be offset by lower pricing. Lead time for resolving trouble reports is another area in which flexibility is possible. The rules currently stipulate a maximum of 24 hours for 95% and 72 hours for the remaining 5%. Low-income consumers probably consider cheaper telephone service more important than faster repair service, he said. Anatel could also consider eliminating the compulsory minimum waiting time for a dial tone. This is no longer important in the context of almost universal digitization of wireline networks in Brazil, he said.
Out of date
Fernando Xavier Ferreira, president of Telefonica Brazil, said the quality-of-service targets are out of date. They were justified at the time of privatization but are now excessively rigid, forcing telcos to spend heavily on special personnel just for this purpose. Customer satisfaction surveys and similar criteria used in other countries could usefully be adapted to the Brazilian market instead, he argued.
