Telecom and Sprint comply with Telecommunications Service Obligations

The Commerce Commission has advised the Minister for Communications and Information Technology that Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited and Sprint International New Zealand Limited have complied with all their Telecommunications Service Obligations’ (TSO) quality measures for the period 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011.

Each year Telecom and Sprint provide the Commission with audited information on their compliance with the service quality measures for the Local Residential Telephone Service (LRTS) TSO and the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) TSO respectively.

The service quality measures for Telecom include measures relating to line connect speed capacity for standard internet calls, unsuccessful residential call attempts, and unsuccessful 111 (emergency) calls. Each year an average of 85 per cent of emergency calls must be answered within 15 seconds.

The service quality measures for Sprint relate to services which enable hearing impaired telecommunications users to make relay calls. The TRS service quality measures require that at least 85 per cent of such calls will be answered by relay assistants within 15 seconds, and that no more than five calls per 100 to the TRS system will receive a busy signal. Compliance with these measures is assessed annually and is based on a review of quarterly figures.

The Commission has advised the Minister for Communications and Information Technology that it is satisfied that both Sprint and Telecom have met all service quality measures.

Further information about the TSO can be found on the Commission’s website www.comcom.govt.nz/telecommunications-service-obligations.