Paying Lip Service to Service Quality (cont'd)

The telecommunications industry in particular, has put a lot of effort into defining these problems, as highlighted by standardisation work from the ITU-T, ETSI and the TeleManagement Forum. However, even the ITU-T recognises that there are problems even in the most basic vocabulary of quality. “The term QoS is extensively used today... however, the term QoS is usually not well defined, is used loosely, or worst of all, misused” reads the ITU-T G.1000 document.

What can the mobile communications industry do to change? Look at what's historically happened within mobile service providers when the subject of QoS comes up for discussion. Almost inevitably, given the strength of tradition in most operator companies, it's identified as a network engineering problem – and so given to the network operations manager as yet another responsibility. Given that this individual and his team have enough on their plate just rolling out new sites and ensuring that the new network doesn't fall over as new services and content come on line, and it's easy to see why ‘lip service' is an appropriate term to apply to the attention given to the subject.

Service quality is a board level issue and, as such, it should receive full recognition and support at board level. It is not, primarily, a technical problem, but a commercial one that should involve the whole organisation. While internal departments will continue to fight their own battles and protect their turf, they should realise that it's not their CEO who's at the apex of the commercial pyramid – it's their customer.

There's a useful comparison to be made here with information security. Long seen as the domain of the nerds and experts by most board members – and often a hindrance to new initiatives, forever crying wolf in the face of possible threats – recent high level attacks and new corporate governance laws have ensured that IT security issues now have a seat at the highest table.

The same has to happen with QoS issues. Only by taking a truly holistic approach to the problem and combining mechanical QoS techniques and the engineering skills and expertise of the network experts with other departments will true Service Quality Management principles be implemented. At the end of the day, words and promises are cheap – but only changes in the real world will bring real results.

«Prev    |   1   |   2   |   Subscribe

Send Comment

© 2005, All information contained herein is the sole property of Pipeline Publishing, LLC. Pipeline Publishing LLC reserves all rights and privileges regarding the use of this information. Any unauthorized use, such as copying, modifying, or reprinting, will be prosecuted under the fullest extent under the governing law.