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The NTRA Issues its Report on Complaints Tracking and follow-up System for Q3 2020
 18 August 2020

Within the framework of the keenness of the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) to boost the customers’ rights, and ensure the provision of high-quality services in the Egyptian market, the NTRA has issued its report for Q3 2020 on “Telecom Service Users Complaints Tracking and Follow-up System” (for the period from July to September 2020). This report displays the most significant indicators on the complaints of users of telecom services (mobile, fixed and fixed internet services), the percentage of complaints resolved after their escalation to the NTRA during the measurement period, and the service providers’ average complaint resolution time.

The NTRA receives the users’ complaints via several means, mainly: NTRA’s Call Center through No. 155 and on other e-channels that the NTRA has recently used to facilitate networking and communication with users and to provide untraditional ways for receiving complaints. Chief among these channels are the NTRA’s official website, and pages on social media platforms in addition to the instant chat application (WhatsApp). Thus, the NTRA received 51,318 complaints during the third quarter of 2020 compared to 40,041 complaints received via traditional means during the previous quarter. The most significant findings of this report are as follows:

  • A total of 51,318 complaints were escalated to the NTRA by the users against their service providers. They include: 15,740 mobile phone complaints, representing 31% of the total complaints, 24,278 fixed internet complaints, at a rate of 47% of the total complaints, and 11,300 fixed phone complaints, of 22% of the total complaints.
  • Roughly 86% of the complaints were received through the NTRA’s Call Center (155), 7% of them were received through the NTRA’s official website, 5% were received via the instant chat application (WhatsApp), and 2% were submitted to the NTRA’s pages on social media platforms.
  • The indicators for users’ complaints resolution improved during the third quarter of 2020, as the percentage of complaints resolved after their escalation to the NTRA rose to 95% in the third quarter, compared to 91% in the second quarter of the same year. The average complaint response and resolution time decreased to 1.8 day in the third quarter of 2020 compared to 3.8 days in the second quarter.

The NTRA developed and enhanced the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) feature among operators last June. This resulted in an increase in the rate of successfully ported numbers to amount to 86% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to 29% for the same period in 2019, as 54,000 numbers were successfully ported from one operator to another in the third quarter of 2020 compared to 5,000 numbers ported in the third quarter of 2019.

Furthermore, the NTRA investigated users’ complaints concerning financial issues against their operators, and after their complaints were proven valid and the users’ entitlement to due payments, an amount of 760 thousand Egyptian pounds was refunded to the users. It should be highlighted here that 82% of these complaints were related to mobile calls (balance/bill), 12% of them were about the users’ subscription to services without their consent; 5% of them were about roaming, 1% of these complaints dealt with mobile internet issues. The amounts duly refunded to users were as follows: 66% by Orange, 25% by Vodafone Egypt, 6% by Etisalat Misr and 3% by WE.

Here’s a detailed review of the mobile phone and fixed internet complaints:

Firstly: Complaints of Mobile Service Users against their Service Providers:

The rate of mobile phone complaints was 17 complaints per 100,000 subscribers. The rate of complaints resolution after their escalation to the NTRA reached 98%, and the average complaint resolution and response time has been less than one day (0.65 day).

  1. Vodafone Egypt: the total number of complaints filed against Vodafone Egypt was 6,740, at a rate of 17 complaints per 100,000 subscribers. The rate of complaints resolution after their escalation to the NTRA was 97.6%, and the average complaint resolution time was 0.22 day. The most significant complaints of mobile phone users against Vodafone Egypt were as follows: 35% (MNP), 22% (call drop), 17% (bills/balance), 9% (e-wallet), and 5% (service quality).
  2. Orange: the total number of complaints filed against Orange was 5,271, at a rate of 19 complaints per 100,000 subscribers. The rate of complaints resolution after their escalation to the NTRA was 97.8%, and the average complaint resolution time was 1.16 day. The most significant complaints of mobile phone users against the company came were as follows: 35% (MNP), 18% (bills/balance), 15% (call drop), 15% (value-added services (games, ringtones, etc.) and 5% (e-wallet).
  3. Etisalat Misr: the total number of complaints filed against Orange was 2,713, at a rate of 13 complaints per 100,000 subscribers. The rate of complaints resolution after their escalation to the NTRA was 98.9%, and the average complaint resolution time was 0.46 day. The most significant complaints of mobile phone users against the company came were as follows: 54% (MNP), 12% (bills/balance), 11% (call drop), 6% (e-wallet), 4% (value-added services (games, ringtones, etc.).
  4. WE: the total number of complaints filed against Orange was 1016, at a rate of 21 complaints per 100,000 subscribers. The rate of complaints resolution after their escalation to the NTRA was 99%, and the average complaint resolution time was 1.33 day. The most significant complaints of mobile phone users against the company came were as follows: 61% (MNP), 12% (bills/balance), 11% (call drop), 3% (service quality), and 2% (e-wallet).

Secondly: Complaints of Users of Fixed Internet Services against their Service Providers:

The rate of mobile phone complaints was 302 complaints per 100,000 subscribers. The rate of complaints resolution after their escalation to the NTRA reached 95.5%, and the average complaint resolution and response time was 2.14 days.

  1. Vodafone Egypt: the total number of complaints filed against Vodafone Egypt reached 5,705, at a rate of 670 complaints per 100,000 subscribers. The rate of complaints resolution after their escalation to the NRA was 99.6%, and the average complaint resolution time was 0.12 day. The most important complaints about fixed internet users came as follows: 74% (difficulties and problems subscribing to the internet), 18% (quality of service), 4% (bills/credit), 2.3% (other issues), and 2% (unsatisfactory customer service).
  2. Orange: the total number of complaints filed against the company reached 3,608, at a rate of 799 complaints per 100,000 subscribers. The rate of complaints resolution after their escalation to the NRA was 99.3%, and the average complaint resolution time was 1.19 day. The most important complaints about fixed internet users came as follows: 56% (difficulties and problems subscribing to the internet), 30% (quality of service), 6% (bills/credit), 6% (other issues), and 2% (unsatisfactory customer service).
  • Etisalat Misr: the total number of complaints filed against the company reached 3,499, at a rate of 746 complaints per 100,000 subscribers. The rate of complaints resolution after their escalation to the NRA was 99.6%, and the average complaint resolution time was 0,82 day. The most important complaints about fixed internet users came as follows: 81% (difficulties and problems subscribing to the internet), 11% (quality of service), 4% (bills/credit), 2% (other issues), and 1% (unsatisfactory customer service).

WE the total number of complaints filed against Vodafone Egypt reached 11,466, at a rate of 183 complaints per 100,000 subscribers. The rate of complaints resolution after their escalation to the NRA was 91%, and the average complaint resolution time was 3.85 days. The most important complaints about fixed internet users came as follows: 73% (service quality),19% (difficulties and problems subscribing to the internet), 6% (bills/credit), 2% (other issues), and 0.1% (unsatisfactory customer service).