Malaysian Telcos Fined For Bad Service

March 7, 2013

How many of you have suffered “lost” conversations and abrupt end to important phone calls because your telco decides to drop you like a hot potato? How many of us have once or twice in the past once or twice this week complained about our local telcos’ calls dropping? More importantly, how many Malaysians have attempted porting from one local telco to another because of the bad service?

Well, you’ll be (sorta) relieved to hear that all three of the major local telcos – Maxis, DiGi, and Celcom, have recently been fined a whopping total of RM190,000 by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for breaching their license conditions.

Which one among the three got slapped with the heftiest fine, you ask?

DiGi was fined not one, not two, but four separate compounds amounting up to RM100,000whereas Celcom received a fine of RM60,000 for three separate compounds. Maxis was fined RM30,000 for two separate compounds. And before you ask, “Who was the judge of this anyway?”, the compounds were issued to the telcos based on test results conducted by MCMC in several locations in Malaysia.

Upon the announcement, Dato’ Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi (Chairman of MCMC) said, “The telcos were given ample time and reminders to resolve complaints received from their customers concerning the increased occurrence of dropped calls lately. As the regulator of the industry, we have no choice but to fine them for failing to meet accepted standards and levels of service”.

UPDATE:

The MCMC has slapped our local telcos once again with embarrassingly hefty fines. The stricter fines, imposed against six companies, collectively adds up to a total of almost RM1 million. Why, you ask? Due to the companies’ failure to ensure that prepaid account registrations were done right, basically.

Sounds like an honest mistake but there have been cases where individuals’ MyKad or IC numbers and names were wrongly used for registration. Thus, the telcos’ failure to ensure accurate user information in prepaid account registrations are held liable under Section 242 of Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which exists to avoid abuse of end user information.

The companies fined were:

1. Celcom Axiata Bhd
2. Merchantrade Sdn Bhd
3. U Mobile Sdn Bhd
4. Tune Talk Sdn Bhd
5. Maxis Mobile Services Sdn Bhd
6. Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd

With Celcom Axiata having had it the worst with eight fines totaling RM400,000. 

3G services under MCMC scrutiny

Malaysia telco service providers have been notoriously cutting corners to short change subscribers. Read here, compilation of news from over the years.

Telcos silent on hidden charges

19 December 2012

THEY may offer lucrative deals and claim to have the lowest rates in the country, but telecommunications service providers (telcos) face an uphill task in winning over disgruntled customers.

National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) deputy director Ravin Karunanidhi said this was because the centre had been receiving numerous complaints against the telcos.

"We receive between 10 and 15 complaints against telcos daily and most of them are unsubscribed charges, lack of coverage, dropped calls and high data-roaming charges.

"Many consumers complain their calls are not getting through or goes to voice message even when the other person is not using their cell phone. Worse still, they are charged each time this happens," he said in response to the directive by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to telcos to review their call plan packages from Jan 1.

Ravin said lower packages were not the solution as there were other issues that telcos and the authorities should look at.

He said telcos failed to clearly inform customers about roaming charges and there were cases where people who went overseas for two days, returned home to find they had been billed thousands of ringgit for data usage.

He said consumers were left feeling cheated as they were not clearly informed of the hidden charges and when they demanded explanation, they were given unsatisfactory answers most of the time.

He said telcos only addressed the issues once NCCC took them to task.

"The moment we issue them a letter demanding that they look into the problem, we see that it is resolved within a week.

"Perhaps they are afraid that we will take it up with the MCMC or the Press, so they act. At the moment, they are solving problems on an individual basis only, they must address it across the board," he said.

Ravin said most telcos just shrugged off complaints from customers and would try to frustrate them by putting them on hold when they contacted the customer service centre.

He said the MCMC needed to introduce a redress mechanism or a tribunal which would address consumer complaints and keep telcos in check.

Meanwhile, DiGi has welcomed the MCMC's recent directive, stating it would promote healthy competition and encourage service providers to operate more efficiently.

Its chief marketing officer, Albern Murty, said their packages were continuously under review to ensure they remained relevant and of best value to customers.

"We believe our customers are currently enjoying the best packages in the market.

"We will continue to assess and review them to suit the changing mobile usage trends."

Commission wants telco providers to revise rates for calls between their customers

December 18, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR: CONSUMERS can now look forward to lower rates and charges when telecommunications (telco) service providers review their call plan packages from Jan 1.

This comes after a directive from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for the telco providers to review the access prices for their wholesale facilities and services from next year.

“We decided to make the call after conducting a public inquiry from Oct 1 to Nov 14,” MCMC chairman Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi said yesterday.

He said while MCMC had considered feedback from the telcos, it also took into consideration the impact such a move would have on the consumers in the long term.

The reduction in access prices — fees paid by one telco to another to connect a call for fixed and mobile “termination” (when a call is connected at the receiving end) — should have a desirable impact on consumers.

It is expected to yield lower retail rates for consumers in the long run as well as lower “termination” fixed and mobile rates which promote competition among the telcos, providing consumers with more varied options.

Sharilsa id t he directive would benefit consumers nationwide.

The results of a survey carried out by MCMC on a targeted population, covering users of handphones on all digital platforms, showed there were 36,123,300 handphone subscriptions to a population of 28,477,600 as of March 31 last year.

The number of registered numbers represent about 130 per cent of the overall population and these are the main users of the 011, 012, 013, 014, 016, 017, 018 and 019 networks.

Selangor had the most number of handphone users at 20.7 per cent, followed by Johor (11.7) and Kuala Lumpur (11.0).

MCMC had been reported to have proposed setting a price for the fixed access services (mainly in fixed wholesale services) and high-speed broadband wholesale services.

The move by MCMC was lauded by consumer associations, with the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) calling for one rate to be maintained for all calls.

Its president, Datuk Marimuthu Nadason, said consumers should not be charged differently for contacting a different telco user.

"It should be maintained at one rate for all."

Marimuthu said a main criticism was telecommunications companies' many data plans.

"In India, for example, consumers only pay for what they use but here, if one is a fixed line user, he has to pay a fixed charge no matter if he reaches the credit limit."

Marimuthu also called on a review of such plans, claiming Fomca had received "unending complaints" on the disparities.

Pahang Consumer Association president Muhammad Shaani Abdullah said MCMC's directive was long overdue.

"It is a timely move as we know telcos are making a high margin on these access rates."

Shaani said the review was necessary as consumers from the lower income group had been burdened with high charges.

"The authorities must ensure the telcos review the fees and should come down hard on those who fail to comply."

A check revealed that the call rates for a Maxis user to other local operators is pegged at 30 sen per-minute during peak hours and 15 sen at off-peak hours.

Celcom call rates to other operator users is at 28 sen per-five minute. Digi, on the other hand, offers the service at 10 sen while the charges drop to 5 sen from 4pm to 6pm. Additional reporting by Sukhbir Cheema

Some mobile content providers fined by regulator, sets tone for better services

February 15, 2013

A DOZEN mobile content providers have been fined by the regulator for promotional and spam messages. Perhaps this should be extended to dropped calls as well.

Mobile users are bound to receive at least one or two SMSes or spam soliciting subscription for a particular content service on a daily basis.

And in a week, there could be more than a dozen, and some can be pretty annoying while others downright intimidating. Not everyone is into watching a video clip of hot models or getting a message about some cheap beer somewhere in the city.

Sending out unsolicited bulk messages, especially in relation to advertising, indiscriminately with the use of the electronic messaging system is known as spamming.

Due to numerous complaints from users, industry regulator the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission or MCMC slapped fines on a dozen companies recently.

Surprisingly, the news went unnoticed, even though the names of the 12 companies and the quantum of fines were spelt out clearly in the statement issued by the regulator.

The 12 companies were fined a total RM260,000 for breaching their licence conditions.

This is not the first time that companies have been fined, and it will certainly not be the last. But in one fell swoop, the regulator clamped down on a dozen and that should send out a strong signal that providers have to be clear and concise in their messages.

In December, the MCMC also slapped a RM20,000 fine on a cellular company for failure to stop a mobile content subscription which was supposed to be for a limited period of time. The company was fined under Section 242 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the fine was based on one complaint.

This time around, the 12 have been slapped fines for failure to comply with the mandatory standards for mobile content services, which is a breach of the licences under Article 2.2 of the standards set by the application service provider class licence or ASP(C).

Of the 12 companies, two were fined RM50,000 each, two RM30,000 each, another two RM20,000 each and the remaining six RM10,000 each. Of the 12, one cellular company was fined on two counts of RM20,000 and RM10,000, and the rest were content providers.

The MCMC said in its statement that the non-compliance of Article 2.2 of the ASP(C) standard licence conditions was an offence under Section 242 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, and if found guilty, they could be compounded for not more than RM100,000 or jailed for not more than two years or both.

Whether the regulator will take these companies to court is not known, but it is hoped that the companies would be more prudent in the future.

There is nothing wrong in soliciting subscription, as, after all, it's their bread and butter, but as the regulator says, it has to be done truthfully and in the right manner. Furthermore, users should have the right to reject the messages and should know the cost upfront if there is indeed interest. Companies should indicate their names in the SMSes if they are indeed marketing something.

The fines imposed are really about bringing about some order, because otherwise many subscribers would fall prey to the tactics of some unscrupulous content providers. Although there are many genuine ones, all it takes is a few to sully the reputation of the industry.

Mobile content is going to be more prevalent with the 4G long-term evolution or LTE services, and if these tactics are not curbed, then the situation will only worsen. It is about time the regulator flexed its muscles to set the record straight.

In the same vein, perhaps the regulator should also come down hard on those players that are not doing much to improve the dropped call situation. Say what you may, but there are pockets of the mobile population that suffers from dropped calls.

Although the regulator said it had issued numerous warnings to licence holders to improve the quality of their services, including on the issue of dropped calls and promotional SMSes, it said: “Unfortunately, complaints from consumers regarding the quality of service kept on increasing as the telcos are still unable to satisfactorily resolve the problem.''

Imposing fines is to make the industry better, with the net result being a better quality of service. However, if it is done on an ad hoc basis, then the problem is bound to persist. What is needed is continuous monitoring and enforcement.

● Deputy news editor B. K. Sidhu wonders if imposing fines on players with the worst dropped call rates would help improve the situation.

Rais: Put an end to spam

April 10, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR: Enough is enough.

Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim is fed up with SMS spam and wants it to stop.

Rais, who has also been spammed with suggestive pornographic text, wants the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and telecommunication companies to find a way to stop the spread of such unsolicited texts.

“We certainly do not welcome the utilisation of veiled pornography or veiled gaming within SMS. This should stop.

“We can do this under the law but we would rather let telcos and the relevant departments in MCMC do their homework.

“Datuk Sharil (MCMC chairman Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi) has told me that he will commence to ignite the interest for this and I think it is a good start,” he said yesterday after a session with the Malaysian Mobile Phone Owners Association (Perbit) which is opposing a proposed 6% service charge on prepaid mobile phone users.

Rais said he would give MCMC two months to get back to him before calling for a meeting with consumers, MCMC and telco companies.

“I told them that under the law we can direct them to do it now. But now that the chairman said he will do it, let us give them two months.”

On the spam text he received, Dr Rais said it invited him to dial a number to look at “cute girls” while his son received a text which promised him a return of RM11 in two days if he invested RM5 into their scheme.

Other porn spam have invited mobile users to check out “gadis hot” (hot girls) or log on to a “laman panas” (hot website). Users have also received unsolicited text messages on pyramid schemes and fake promises of a prize, among others.

On Perbit, its president Mohd Ali Ibrahim said they were planning to collect one million signatures by mid-year as part of their campaign against the proposed 6% service charge.

No proof telcos leaked consumer information to content providers

March 19, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR: There are no evidence to that show telecommunication companies (telcos) leaked mobile phone numbers of consumers to content providers, Parliament was told Monday.

However, the Government did not rule out the possibility of dealers or telco insiders leaking consumer information to content providers, said Deputy Information Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Joseph Salang.

"Many people assume that content providers who send business SMS contents to phone users obtained them from telcos. But investigations by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) proved it did not happen.

"There is a possibility the telco dealers or insiders leak such information required by the content providers. I believe many numbers were harvested randomly," he said when replying to a question by Datuk Ismail Abd Muttalib (BN-Maran) during the question and answer session.

Ismail had wanted to know how the ministry controlled and supervised the promotion of business through SMS and what was the punishment if there was proof of scams in such business.

Salang said the MCMC was always monitoring the activities of licence holders through the Communications and Multinmedia Act 1998, which provides for a fine of not more than RM100,000 or jail of not more than two years or both, if convicted.

He said through the monitoring of MCMC, 185 cases of pornographic, defamation and offensive SMS dissemination were investigated under Section 233 of the act, last year. - Bernama

MCMC fines five telcos for false prepaid SIM card registration

March 13, 2013 

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has issued a total of RM 920,000 in fines to five telcos for breaching their licence conditions, specifically for failing to ensure proper registration of accurate user information for prepaid accounts.

The telcos fined were Celcom Axiata Bhd, Merchantrade Sdn Bhd, U Mobile Sdn Bhd, Tune Talk Sdn Bhd, Maxis Mobile Services Sdn Bhd and Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd.

Celcom received the most number of fines — eight in total — amounting to RM400,000. Merchantrade was issued seven fines amounting to RM240,000, while U Mobile was fined RM100,000 for four fines. Maxis Mobile was issued three fines amounting to RM150,000. Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd and Tune Talk Sdn Bhd were issued fines of RM10,000 each.

Service providers or their representatives are required to verify the information provided by potential subscribers against the information contained in their MyKad or other official identification like passports.

The registration is to avoid misuse of end user information which is a breach of their licence conditions as prescribed under Section 242 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

“We view the failure to ensure proper registration of accurate user information as a serious offence. We have received numerous complaints and info about cases where individuals’ MyKad or IC numbers and names have been used when in fact they never did apply for the service from the said telcos,” said Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, MCMC chairman.

We are in the process of contacting MCMC and the telcos for comments. Get in touch with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/techcentral), Twitter (@starintech) or e-mail (bytz@thestar.com.my) if you were affected by the false prepaid registration.

MCMC must monitor hidden charges by Telcos, says Consumers Protection Board

 June 10, 2013

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has been urged to monitor local telecommunications companies which allegedly made hidden charges to postpaid and prepaid users.

Deputy president of Malaysian Consumers Protection and Welfare Board Dr Lee Nan Sang said as a result, users had to pay a high price, including hidden charges when they did not get good service.

"We have received complaints of bad service (low coverage) for use of the internet, but users have to pay bills monthly.

"When signing up during promotions by telecommunications companies, consumers must ensure that the service received is the same as stated in the contract.

"Coverage should not drop less than one week after signing the contract," he told a press conference here Monday.

Lee said that, on average, the board received about 30 written and verbal complaints on the issue from February until early June.

MCMC should also take serious view of personal data protection because third party knew the number of phone users and send SMS promising great prizes.

"How can a third party get the number and send SMS to users? Some users complained of receiving five to ten SMS from different people daily," he added. - Bernama

MCMC, Telco asked to find a way to stop unwanted SMS

Monday April 9, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and telecommunication companies (Telcos) have been asked to find a way to tackle the dissemination of undesired information to consumers through the short messaging service (SMS).

Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the two parties were given two months to find the best solution besides taking legal action.

"We certainly do not welcome the utilisation of veiled pornography, veiled gaming within SMS. We have seen so many kinds of SMS that should not appear on our telephone.

"We can do this under the law but we would rather let telcos and MCMC do their work," he told reporters after launching the 10 Million Signatures Campaign, here Monday.

Earlier in his speech, Rais called on the Mobile Phone Owners Association (Perbit) to be active in championing the rights of consumers in getting reasonable service according to the value of their financial cost.

"The telephone is our right and the messages that we receive, we decide them. But in many cases (now), others decide them (the contents of messages received)," he said.

Meanwhile, Perbit president Mohd Ali Ibrahim said the formation of the association was to enable them to receive complaints on the use of mobile phones.

As such, the association would set up kiosks at shopping centres to enable members of the public to lodge complaints concerning services for mobile phone users. - Bernama

3G services under MCMC scrutiny

November 28, 2013

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has issued a stern warning to cellular companies that are providing 3G services on lower-than-agreed bandwidth, causing a deterioration in the quality of 3G services.

Most of the 3G players are using the 900 megahertz (MHz) and 1,800MHz frequency bands to roll out 3G services instead of the primary 2,100MHz band meant for 3G.

The regulator has given the players till the end of the year to come up with a plan to rectify the situation or face hefty fines, given the rise in the number of complaints regarding the capacity and speed of 3G services.

“We did an audit over three months ago and this has come to light. They have been putting up 3G coverage but not capacity and speed, and hence, the 3G services are slow. We issued the warning two weeks ago and have given them till the end of December to come back to us or action will be taken against them,” MCMC chairman Datuk Mohamed Sharil Mohamed Tarmizi told StarBizyesterday.

He, however, added that “some of them have taken steps, but a lot more needs to be done”.

The rationale for telco operators to roll out their 3G on the lower bands is simply because it is more cost-effective to do so, according to telco experts.

Simply put, the higher the band, the higher the data capacity that can be carried on that network. However, the higher bands have smaller areas of coverage, and hence, the investment has to be higher.

“Some players have economised on investing in 2,100MHz to push coverage instead of higher capacity and speed. They are trying to compromise on quality. They may be stretching their dollar by not putting in enough base stations despite having made a lot of money all these years,” said an telco expert.

Another added that “consumers need more bandwidth for tablets than phones and this means the players may have compromised on the quality of service. Perhaps, some of the players had underestimated the tablet demand and had under-provisioned”.

The four recipients of the 3G spectrum are Celcom Axiata Bhd, DiGi.Com Bhd,Maxis Bhd and U Mobile.

The four players did not respond to queries from StarBiz as at press time.

“The concern is two-fold – first, there is concern about the quality of service of existing customers on the 900MHz/1,800MHz spectrum.

“Second, and more important, is the fact that rolling out 3G on any spectrum other than 2,100MHz could mean under-utilisation of the 3G primary band given to the players by the Government to provide maximum benefit of higher data capacity and speed to consumers,” said the expert.

“The onus is now on the regulator to find out if the Internet data rates charged for 3G services commensurate with the actual delivery of speed and capacity. If not, then consumers should not be burdened.”

Late last year, MCMC also dished out parts of the 2,600MHz spectrum band to eight players, including the main incumbent telco operators, to roll out 4G/ long-term evolution or LTE services.

Some of the players have asked to be allowed to upgrade on the 1,800MHz, on top of the 2,600MHz. Again, this would be a move to provide less capacity, but the regulator does not want a repeat of the 3G debacle.

Sharil said: “We have mandated that for every two base stations on 1,800MHz, operators will have to roll out one base station on 2,600MHz, as they have to provide adequate capacity and not coverage alone.

“The lower-bandwidth base stations are to accommodate for some handsets usage.”

MCMC has been making serious efforts at raising the quality of services for consumers in Malaysia.

Last year, it conducted a survey and found that the rate of dropped calls was bad among certain operators, and highlighted its findings.

SMS Scam ( 22 ): Is MCMC confused, or is Maxis confusing?

By Jeff Ooi Sep 18, 2007 12:00AM UTC

UPDATED VERSION. Yesterday, Maxis Communications Bhd (Maxis) made a PR announcement, picked up by Bernama Business, that it has rolled out its anti-spam platform — installed and operational in July 2007 — ahead of the September 30 deadline by the Energy, Water and Communications Ministry..

Maxis chief operating officer Jon Eddy Abdullah was quoted as saying that the platform was designed to block unsolicited short messaging services (SMS) — such as spam and spoof SMS — from reaching the operator’s postpaid and prepaid customer base.

“Since July 2007, the anti-spam platform, which works as a firewall, has eliminated over 1.2 million intrusive SMS from reaching customers,” Maxis said, effectively re-affirming that unsolicited SMS had been a piece of truth.

Is this the silver-bullet preventive solution from the celcos to battle the rampant spoofing of MOs (as if they are genuine from the unassuming mobile users) via international SMS gateway employed by its external content providers out to fleece the consumers?

A high-ranking Little Bird from MCMC, when alerted to the Bernama story, advised that ( A ) the preventive system and ( 2 ) the anti-spoof/spam mechanism are two different things altogether. Quote:

One is a platform to ensure automatic compliance to the Guideline for Mobile Content Service.

This is the one called Maxis Preventive Gateway (MPG). This is to be completed by end September 2007.

Anti spam/spoof is implemented at the international gateway, specifically to address spam and spoof.

It is to be highlighted that, last week, Maxis circulated a premeditated letter to its ECPs, asking them to “voluntarily” acknowledge that they (the ECPs) have “successfully migrated to Maxis Preventive Gateway (MPG)”. Fearing for being blacklisted for non-compliance, some ECPs voiced that they would sign the acknowledgment letter under duress. (Read this September 14 blog entry for context.)

So, which is which that Maxis and MCMC are talking about now?

Yesterday, Screenshots contacted several content providers asking them to read the Maxis PR on Bernama, and to give a YES or NO answer, as to whether Maxis has found the silver bullet to kill SMS Scams rampaging its network — and continue to fleece mobile users — once and for all.

All of them are skeptical. One said: “Either MCMC is confused, or Maxis is confusing it.”

We will come back to this angle, later in this blog entry.

Matrix CEO responds; Case escalated to MCMC

Meanwhile, Ati El Bakush, CEO of Matrix Internet & Wireless Sdn Bhd, has responded to the latest case of SMS Scam by contacting this blogger via email.

It’s pertaining to a Maxis017 supplementary line, used by a Form 1 student, bombarded with horoscope alert subscription via shortcode 32321 throughout August-September — that is AFTER Maxis claimed that its preventive platform has been installed and operational since July.

Read more here - http://asiancorrespondent.com/5718/sms-scam-22-is-mcmc-confused-or-is-maxis-confusing/

Mail story a test of governance at MCMC

By Jeff Ooi Jun 25, 2007 12:00AM UTC

Li/Jonathan Wong, a Maxis postpaid user, was scammed 210 times over 17 days in April/May via short code 32355 owned by a triple non-compliance offender identified by MCMC, and a total of RM270.00 was skimmed in the stealth process.

According to Weekend Mail, the victim contacted the content provider and ordered it to stop delivering the unsolicited SMS content to her supplementary line. However, similar charges were made in her May/June itemised bill, amounting to RM77.00.

In a situation where the mobile user has contacted the content provider and ordered it to stop and yet the consumer’s demand was not fulfilled, based on precedent actions taken by MCMC, this is classified as (request of service) Termination not Processed.

It is a serious, punishable offence under the industry Guideline implemented since July 2006.

Most importantly, the content provider should adhere to provisions in Clause 10.4 under Customer Service, which stipulates that:

Content Providers shall attend to complaints reported, whichever mode the complaints is (sic) received, without delay and to provide a satisfactory explanation to the complaints within reasonable timeframe depending on the level of complexity involved in resolving the complaints.

In Li/Jonathan Wong’s case, the victim received no reply to her inquiry and continued to be charged after a demand to stop the unsolicited SMS had been made.

Going by records, MCMC has invoked the same Guideline to act on a one-time offender,UnrealMind Interactive Berhad, which was faulted for Termination not Processed, among other things.

The case was escalated to effect a FIR (Further Investigation Report) and ultimately, Unrealmind was made to cough out multi-million ringgit refund to the mobile users via the three Celcos.

The action was taken during the reign of the same MCMC Chairman, Dr Halim Shafie. With his express consent and approval, the same industry Guideline was invoked to punish a non-compliant content provider, and the industry noticed it

THE CONTEXT. In Li/Jonathan Wong’s case, a triple non-compliance offender has been implicated in yet another fault breaching the maximum threshold allowable under the same Guideline that was used to punish a one-time offender, Unrealmind.

So here we go.

It matters not whether the COO of any rogue content provider comes knocking on the regulator’s doors early this morning, or on any Monday morning, just to plead ignorance and innocence.

However, it matters most that the acid test for consistent, defensible governance is Mr MCMC‘s ball that’s sitting right there in his court. He has to pick it up and play till game over.

POST-SCRIPT. The NCCC is currently running a campaign to collate more evidence of unsolicited SMS. It can be contacted at Tel: 03-78779000 or 78748096 or fax: 03-78748097.

Consumers can also lodge complaints, with their itemised bills, via email atnccc@nccc.org.my.

NCCC also provides e-aduan forms available at its website: www.nccc.org.my.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Regulator should take action on telcos that fail to deliver

01 November 2012

IT looks like with a mobile telephone penetration rate of 133.3 per cent per 100 inhabitants, the telco industry is expected to further grow and expand.

According to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, a 133.3 per cent penetration rate equals to almost 38.5 million mobile phone subscribers in the country.

The question is while the telcos are raking in profits are the consumers getting a fair deal?

After years of ineffective regulation, it looks like MCMC has finally woken up to its role and has expressed, at least publicly, that it would act sternly against service providers who have been taking consumers for a ride.

In the past MCMC was a weak and ineffective regulator; hopefully that will change. The statement by the new chairman gives us hope.

Complaints received by the National Consumer Complaints Centre against the telecommunications sector involving hand phones, Internet and satellite television increased from 1,297 in 2006 to 8,181 last year; an increase of 530 per cent in just 5 years.

What is shocking is that the complaints are almost similar over the five years.

This means that the service providers continued to offer shoddy products and weak service.

Service providers focused on increasing their consumer bases, never to provide quality service. They sold confusing plans and did not deliver on their promises.

Coverage is often low and consumers are subject to long periods of network instability resulting in no lines or "dropped" lines, where the call just gets cut-off and the consumer has to make the call again, often several times.

For Internet providers, the quality of the installation is so poor that often after NCCC makes the complaint, the installation unit is replaced.

Consumers keep getting unsolicited messages; where do businesses get consumers' telephone numbers? This raises the question of personal data security.

In many instances, there are billing disputes, in which charges are unexplained and unreasonable. Charges must be transparent and with the consent of the purchaser, and not arbitrarily billed.

In most of the companies additionally, the customer service quality is extremely unsatisfactory. Promises made by the call centre are not followed through.

These consumer grouses have been going on for too long.

With greed for profits, the companies have expanded their consumer base without regard to their ability to provide even the most basic service.

The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations looks forward to MCMC taking on a more proactive role.

It should have a minimum quality level that service providers must comply with, or there would be consequences.