New consumer reporting platform to pinpoint dropped signals, lost messages

Telecommunications providers are to face a technical audit to identify network weaknesses and establish the extent of persistent service problems reported by consumers.

The Barbados National Standards Institution (BNSI) would also be involved in the audit.

Technology Minister Senator Jonathan Reid told Barbados TODAY that the exercise will include driving tests, improved signal monitoring, and the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to measure signal output. 

He did not reveal a timeline for the audit or when its results would be released.

Minister of Innovation, Industry, Science and Technology Senator Jonathan Reid (File Photo)

The audit would give providers evidence to make targeted improvements, he said.

The revelation follows concerns raised by Prime Minister Mia Mottley about broadband Internet service quality amid plans by Flow to increase its rates.

She hinted at the Labour Party’s 87th annual conference at St George Secondary School on Saturday that the issue, which has sparked public debate, could warrant an audit by Reid.

Senator Reid confirmed that the government was moving aggressively to compel telecommunications providers to address longstanding consumer complaints.

Senator Reid said: “Whether it’s parts of Lancaster, Cave Hill…you know the spaces where you tell people hold on, that you know you might lose service.”

Reliable telecommunications were critical to Barbados’ ambitions of becoming a technologically advanced nation, he said, but the quality of service delivered by the island’s two main providers was falling short of what was required.

While applauding both providers for their investments in technology, including their launches of state-of-the-art 5G mobile broadband service, he said he had raised concerns about the quality of their networks with their country managers.

“I made it known in no uncertain terms that I expected them to do some significant remedial work on those areas. Both have indicated to me they have been doing those remedial works, but it’s clearly not enough. We still have areas of low quality, and we still get lots of complaints from consumers.”

Senator Reid said the technical audit was already being pursued before the prime minister’s public comments, with the telecommunications regulator moving ahead with the acquisition of equipment needed to conduct the exercise.

“As the telecommunications regulator, we are going full steam ahead with that audit,” he said.

Senator Reid said the regulator would also compare its readings with data provided by telecommunications companies to independently verify their reported performance.

“The [Fair Trading Commission], of course, is in charge of the quality of service from what consumers are paying for and what they’re receiving,” he said, adding that policy amendments were also being considered by the Cabinet to strengthen the ability to address service quality issues.

A new platform would be introduced to allow the public to report problems with network connectivity and service delivery, he revealed.

The platform would enable consumers to identify areas where they experienced dropped signals, poor service or lost messages.

These reports would help authorities move beyond anecdotal complaints and give telecommunications providers scientific evidence of areas needing attention, he suggested.

He continued: “Barbadians can indicate places where they have dropped signals, poor quality, lost messages…so we can not just anecdotally, but scientifically send out a report to the telecommunications providers about what the public is saying to us and what their experiences [are], so that they can go specifically to areas to strengthen the level of quality of service.”

He acknowledged that some network improvements could require additional government intervention, particularly where planning permission was needed for infrastructure expansion.

But he said providers also needed to do more to modernise their infrastructure and improve network quality.

“We want to let this actual science and the actual research that we’re doing give us hard numbers so we could then use that evidence to have a more specific conversation.” 

(SB)