Universal Service Obligation - What it means for your phone service
Universal Service Obligation
Introduction
By law, ComReg is responsible for regulating the Irish electronic communications sector. One of ComReg’s responsibilities is to select a universal service provider (USP), to set requirements and to monitor its performance. Eircom Ltd is currently disgnated for a period of two years, from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2012. Eircom Ltd. was previously designated to provide universal services for the period 25 July 2006 to 30 June 2010. Prior to that, Eircom Ltd. had been designated to provide universal services for the period 25 July 2003 to 24 July 2006.In this guide, we:
- outline what we mean by universal service, and
- describe the obligations of the universal service provider in relation to phone services.
What is universal service?
Universal service means the basic services that should be available to all people and organisations.Together these are known as the universal service obligation (USO). In the case of telecommunications, this includes:- providing access (phone lines) at a fixed location,
- providing printed phone directories,
- providing public payphones,
- providing services to disabled users, and
- introducing methods to help consumers control spending and keep costs affordable.
What is not covered by the universal service obligation (USO)?
The USO does not cover:- ISDN and broadband internet connections,
- mobile phone services, or
- directory enquiry services
Which company provides universal service?
The ‘Universal service provider’ is Eircom, which ComReg has chosen to provide the universal service until the end of June 2012. ComReg will consult again prior to designating a universal service provider from July 2012.As the universal service provider, what should eircom do?
Eircom shall:- meet all reasonable requests for connecting customers to the public telephone network and offer publicly available telephone services*,
- tell you how it intends to provide the connection and avoid using carrier systems where possible,
- make sure it deals with your request for connection promptly, inform you when a survey will be carried out and keep you up to date on the progress of your request,
- publish details of its quality of service performance in relation to connection times, fault occurrence rate, fault repair times and other uso information every three months,
- use all reasonable efforts to make sure that connections to the publicly available telephone network can send and receive data at a rate of at least 28.8 kbit/s, if necessary by removing carrier systems equipment and increasing the data speed on certain lines,
- inform all people applying for a phone line about its code of practice for handling complaints
- provide a printed telephone directory that is updated every year,
- maintain the National Directory Database (NDD),
- make sure that public payphones are provided to meet the reasonable needs of customers
- tell you how it intends to provide the connection and avoid using carrier systems where possible,
- provide means where customers can control spending.
How quickly should Eircom connect customers to the network?
ComReg set binding annual USO quality of service performance targets for connections in May 2008. These targets take effect from 1 July 2008 for eircom. The annual performance targets for connections are split between in-situ connections and all other connections.In-situ connections
In-situ connections do not require a call out to the premises as the activation of the line is carried out remotely. In line with Eircom’s policy statement on provisioning it should take no more than a working day to activate such a request for connection. ComReg set the following targets:
- 80% of all in-situ connections shall be completed within 24 hours of request
- 99.8% of all in-situ connections shall be completed within 2 weeks of request
- All in-situ connections shall be completed within 2 months of request
A call out to the premises is necessary and may involve making an appointment with the customer requesting a connection. The time taken to complete the connection will vary depending on the level of work involved and whether consents from road and planning authorities and private landowners are necessary. ComReg set the following targets:
- 80% of all requests shall be completed within 2 weeks of request
- 85% of all requests shall be completed within 4 weeks of request
- 90% of all requests shall be completed within 8 weeks of request
- 95% of all requests shall be completed within 13 weeks of request
- All requests shall be completed within 26 weeks request
Where the applicant agrees a date for completion with eircom, the performance target shall be 95% of connections to be completed by such agreed date.
These targets are part of Eircom’s universal service obligation and shall be achieved by 30 June 2009. Quality of service performance in relation to these targets is published quarterly by ComReg by way of an Information Notice and eircom also publishes performance on its website, www.eircom.ie.
ComReg set binding annual USO quality of service performance targets for fault rate occurrence in May 2008. These annual targets take effect from 1 July 2008 for eircom and are as follows:
- A maximum fault rate of 15.5 line faults per 100 lines shall be achieved and fully complied with by 30 June 2009
- A maximum fault rate of 14.5 line faults per 100 lines shall be achieved and fully complied with by 30 June 2010
- A maximum fault rate of 13.5 line faults per 100 lines shall be achieved and fully complied with by 30 June 2011
- A maximum fault rate of 12.5 line faults per 100 lines shall be achieved and fully complied with by 30 June 2012
How quickly should eircom repair faults for its USO customers?
ComReg set binding annual USO quality of service performance targets for fault repair times in May 2008. These annual targets take effect from 1 July 2008 for eircom and are as follows:- 80% of fault repairs shall be completed within 2 working days
- 95% of fault repairs shall be completed within 4 working days
- 99.8% of fault repairs shall be completed within 5 working days
- All fault repairs shall be completed within 10 working days
These targets are part of Eircom’s universal service obligation. Quality of service performance in relation to these targets is published quarterly by ComReg by way of an Information Notice and eircom also publishes performance on its website, www.eircom.ie.
Customer Service Guarantee
eircom operates a customer service guarantee. The service guarantee states that where eircom does not meet targets in relation to installation and fault repair customers may be entitled to a rebate as follows:Installation: if eircom fails to install a line within 10 working days of eircom agreement to do so the customer can claim a credit of two months free line rental.
The rebate refers to PSTN installation only.
Repair: if eircom fails to clear faults within 2 working days customers can claim the equivalent of two months line rental.
The eircom rebate refers to PSTN fault repairs only and it does not apply in the circumstances outlined below:
- Extreme weather conditions (eg storm, lightening, flooding)
- Serious damage to telecommunications equipment caused by a third party
- When a customer is unavailable to have their fault repaired in two working days
- When the customer agrees to an appointment date in excess of two working days
- If the fault is diagnosed as a non-fault (e.g. line working when tested, fault not in eircom’s network)
- Where a replacement telephone is dispatched by post
- Internal wiring and teleccommunication equipment within the customer premises or a third party property
Directory inquiries
ComReg’s Guide to Directory Enquiry Services will give you information on the companies that provide this service and how much they charge. There is a special arrangement for Eircom to provide this service to consumers with disabilities free of charge. However, Eircom is not obliged to provide a general directory inquiry service under its universal service obligation.National Directory Database
All telephone numbers contained in public phone books or available through directory inquiries are held in a central record known as the National Directory Database (NDD). It is Eircom's and the operator's duty to keep this up to date. This database also records whether you want to receive direct marketing calls. For more information on this, read ComReg’s Guide to Cold Calls.Public payphones
As part of its USO, Eircom must make sure that its public payphones meet the reasonable needs of customers. This means it should:- provide enough public payphones,
- spread them fairly around the country,
- make sure they are accessible to disabled users, and
- make sure they offer a good quality service.
- make an emergency call,
- use a directory enquiry service, and
- pay in a number of ways – coins, phone cards, credit cards, and so on.
Consumers with disabilities
The universal service obligation includes a duty to meet the needs of consumers with disabilities. As part of its USO, Eircom should:- have a code of practice about the services it provides for people with disabilities,
- provide a dedicated section on its website about its services for people with disabilites
- provide the following services:
- phones with amplifiers,
- phones with tele-flash visual alerts for incoming calls,
- phones that allow consumers to plug in hearing aid units,
- a text relay service for receiving and converting voice to text (minicom service),
- a scheme that repays some of the costs of calls using the text relay service (these phone calls tend to be longer),
- speed dialling and hands-free or loudspeaker options on phone sets for customers who have difficulty using their hands,
- telephones with large buttons or other options for users with low vision,
- bills in Braille free of charge, and
- special free directory enquiries.
ComReg has set up a forum to make sure telecoms operators understand the needs of disabled users and encourage them to provide suitable services.
Affordability and control of spending
As part of its universal service obligation, eircom should:As part of its universal service obligation, eircom should maintain affordability by means of applying common tariffs irrespective of location.
Eircom’s Vulnerable Users Scheme is geared towards low cost users.
The Eircom / NAD (National Association for the Deaf) programme allows a % credit on the cost of calls up to a maximum amount per person registered with the NAD per month.
Eircom should also:
- provide a minimum level of itemised billing, free of charge,
- offer free call barring for outgoing calls to premium rate numbers,
- publish its system for allowing customers pay connection fees in stages, and
- publish its rules on disconnecting customers for not paying their bills.
What is the telephone allowance?
Telephone Allowance is a payment from the Department ofSocial and Family Affairs towards your telephone bill. It covers:
- charges for line rental and equipment (if relevant),
- call charges of up to €42.80 (plus VAT) if you are billed every two months,
- call charges of up to €21.40 (plus VAT) if you are billed every month.
Telephone Allowance does not cover the installation charge for the telephone.
If you have a hearing or vision impairment the Telephone Allowance covers the cost of renting a special telephone, if available.You must meet certain conditions and have the telephone registered in your name to receive the Allowance. People aged 70 or over living in nursing homes who have their own telephone account may also qualify. The Telephone Allowance scheme is not limited to Eircom customers. If you are not an eircom customer, contact your service provider to find out if it is taking part in the scheme.
Words used in this guide
Call barring = blocking certain types of calls from being made from your telephoneItemised billing = a telephone bill that gives details of all the calls you made during your billing period
