Quality of electronic communication services: what is important to know

 

Today, communication is the basis of the life of our society, where a telephone call solves from work, everyday, everyday issues to the most complex, and sometimes saves lives. But sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where the interlocutor on the phone is inaudible, and the video conference turns into a slide show. If under normal circumstances this is more of an inconvenience, then in critical situations, particularly during war, it becomes a big problem. And not only for the military. In a series of articles we will talk about the quality of electronic communication services (ECS), how it is determined, how it is controlled and why it is important.

 

There is no need to talk much about the importance of high-quality and modern communications. It is enough that their presence has become habitual. At least for most of the planet’s eight billion people.

 

According to the Global Digital 2023 report:

• At the beginning of 2023, 5.44 billion people use mobile phones, representing 68% of the total world population;
• 64.4% of the world’s population has access to the Internet;
• At the beginning of 2023, social networks cover 4.76 billion users, which is almost 60% of the world population.

 

The beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukrainian territory on February 24, 2022 had a negative impact on the overall performance of the electronic communications sector in Ukraine. In addition to the destruction of critical infrastructure, including communications, there was a large loss of subscribers in the temporarily occupied territories. In addition, operators lost most of their subscribers, who were forced to go abroad. Let’s give some numbers. According to the National Commission, which carries out state regulation in the fields of electronic communications, radio frequency spectrum and postal services (NKEC), if at the beginning of 2022 Ukrainian mobile operators provided communications for 50 million subscribers, then from February 2022 a decrease in the number of active subscribers was observed by level of 1 million monthly. It should be said that last summer the subscriber base of mobile operators relatively stabilized and amounted to about 44 million people.

 

Combat operations and terrorist attacks on the territory of Ukraine force operators to constantly invest in support, repair and restoration of networks. Including the acquisition of new means of electronic communications, backup power devices, and improvement of the quality of services. That is, during war, maintaining the functionality of communications and a high level of quality becomes a critical factor. Starting from the efficient operation of government agencies and uninterrupted production processes to remote learning in schools and universities. Let’s not forget that thousands of our compatriots are now in the territories occupied by Russia and communication is the only bridge remaining to support and inform them. In these conditions, the quality of electronic communication networks is very important.

 

What determines the quality ofelectronic communication services

 

The quality of services presupposes compliance with indicators that properly satisfy the needs of consumers. The legislation of Ukraine establishes indicators characterizing the quality of electronic communication services and their levels. Monitoring allows for an objective assessment of the services provided to consumers by service providers (operators). In the future, the end consumer, having familiarized himself with the monitoring results, can make an informed choice of service provider. The opportunity to gain awareness of the quality of services is provided for by Ukrainian legislation.

 

What network characteristics determine the quality of electronic communication services? How do they impact the customer experience?

 

It should be noted that the introduction of modern radio technologies in Ukraine allows subscribers to gain access to higher quality communication services and other services. The quality of services depends on the radio technologies used by the supplier to build the network, the reliability of operation and configuration of the operators’ equipment (elements of the transport network, servers, etc.).

 

 

Quality indicators of electronic communication services

 

For an objective assessment of quality, a list of quality indicators for electronic communication services has been developed and their maximum levels have been approved, making it possible to assess the compliance of services with international and national standards.

 

• Quality indicators of data transmission services, Internet access and their levels

 

Approved by Order No. 803 of December 28, 2012 of the Administration of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine: “Indicators of the quality of services for data transmission, Internet access and their level”

 

• Requirements for the level of quality of mobile (mobile) communication services

 

Approved by Order No. 576 dated September 20, 2021 of the Administration of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, establishing requirements for the level of quality of mobile communication services.

 

For example, according to the orders, the coefficient of network unavailability, the normalized connection and registration time, the percentage of unsuccessful calls, the level of quality of voice information transmission, the average transmission speed and delay time between data packets, etc. are determined.

 

 

Relationship between a country’s economic indicators and the quality ofelectronic communication services

 

The development of electronic communications network infrastructure requires significant financial, material and human resources. To create high-quality networks, operators need modern means of electronic communications, powerful communication lines, professional personnel, appropriate permits and licenses and investments.

 

In countries where economic indicators may fluctuate, the demand for electronic communications services always remains, but the time to return on investment increases. In Ukraine, the infrastructure of electronic communication networks has now been developed, a highly competitive environment has been created, which makes it possible to maintain a sufficient level of provision of modern services to the population. It is important that at the state level all the necessary conditions are created for the construction of electronic communication networks with established indicators of service quality. For example, during the war, to improve the quality of services, mobile operators were provided with an additional frequency resource in the 2100 MHz range for free use. This made it possible to provide the necessary communications to areas in which the population had sharply increased due to refugees leaving the combat zone, or in critical cases that required a rapid response to changes in the use of communication services.

 

 

The importance of qualityelectronic communicationsduring war

 

With the outbreak of a full-scale war, Ukraine faced a number of challenges. Modern warfare takes place not only on the battlefield, but also in the information space. Almost every Ukrainian today is drawn into this war, so timely informing our citizens is extremely important. This applies to both warning systems about city shelling and information counteraction to the enemy.

 

For example, from the first days in Ukraine, systems were organized for informing security forces about the movement of enemy troops through social networks. Now, with the help of the Internet, people in all regions of the country receive information about air raid alerts in populated areas in order to be able to get to shelter in a timely manner. Access to communication channels is the only way to communicate with people in the occupied territories. This is also not only true information about the situation at the front, but also purely practical work on organizing evacuation columns, raising funds for the army or helping the wounded and sick.

 

The preservation of the quality of communications and services, together with the rapid restoration of infrastructure, demonstrated to the world the resilience of Ukraine during the military invasion in maintaining the communication ability of the population and the country’s control centers.

 

Timely control of quality indicators is a kind of challenge – both from the point of view of its physical support throughout the controlled territory of Ukraine, and maintaining the level of modern measurement standards, which is a generally accepted world practice. About this and more in our subsequent publications.

 

The editors are grateful for the assistance in preparing the material to the staff of the Ukrainian State Radio Frequency Center