Standards of Service for Cable & Wireless (Barbados) Ltd 2014 – 2017

• Jurisdiction: Barbados
• Judgment Date: 12 September 2014
• Docket Number: No: FTC/DECSOSC/2014-02
• Court: Fair Trading Commission (Barbados)

Standards of Service for Cable & Wireless (Barbados) Limited 2014 – 2017

No: FTC/DECSOSC/2014-02

Fair Trading Commission

DECISION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION	3
1.0 Background	3
1.1 Public Consultation	4
1.2 Legislative Framework	6
SECTION 3 ANALYSIS OF RESPONSES AND DETERMINATION	8
3.0 General	8
3.1 Changes to Guaranteed Standards of Service	8
3.2 Changes to Overall Standards of Service	18
SECTION4 EXEMPTIONS	23
4.0 Changes to Monitoring and Enforcement of Standards	23
4.1 Other Exemptions and Conditions	25
5.0 Monitoring and Enforcement of Standards	25
5.1 Public Disclosure of Information	26
5.2 Public Education	26
5.3 Implementation and Review	26

SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION

1.0 Background

1 This document sets out the Fair Trading Commission's (Commission) determination of standards of service for the landline telephone services of Cable & Wireless (Barbados) Limited (Cable & Wireless).

2 The Utilities Regulation Act, CAP. 282 (URA) provides for the determination of standards of service by the Commission. In discharging this responsibility the Commission decided that it would begin the process by issuing a Consultation Paper as mandated by the Fair Trading Commission Act, CAP. 326B (FTCA). The Paper was issued on October 23, 2013. Service providers, representatives of consumer interest groups and other interested parties were invited to comment on the Consultation Paper.

3 The purpose of a standard of service programme is to ensure that a minimum quality of service is maintained, to provide incentives for improvement in the quality of service, to create conditions for customer satisfaction, to monitor service quality and generally protect the interests of consumers of telecommunications services.

4 The Guaranteed Standards of Service require that Cable & Wireless make compensatory payments to each individual customer who is affected by its failure to meet the defined targets for the relevant standards.

5 The Overall Standards of Service are designed to monitor the overall performance of Cable & Wireless and are not defined by the service which any specific customer receives. There is no compensation to customers for failure to meet overall standards.

6 The standards also include details of exemptions. Exemptions refer to situations where the Commission considers that failure to meet the standards is due to circumstances outside the control of Cable & Wireless.

1.1 Public Consultation

7 The consultation period for the Standards of Service was between October 25, 2013 and December 06, 2013. During this period, the Commission hosted an outreach effort in Bridgetown to inform the general public about the Commission's Consultation Paper on the Standards of Service for Cable & Wireless. The consultation related specifically to the review of the standards of domestic voice telecommunications services of Cable & Wireless; the standards do not relate to services such as mobile, ADSL or television content. The Commission does not have jurisdiction to regulate these services nor the services provided by the other telecommunications service providers.

8 The revised standards of service will be applicable from July 1 ^st, 2014 to March 31 ^st, 2017.

1.2 Legislative Framework

9 The functions of the Commission encompass the important aspect of setting standards of service. Section 3(1) of the URA, sets out the functions of the Commission in relation to regulated service providers. Some of these functions are as follows:

• (a) to determine the standards of service applicable;

• (b) to monitor the standards of service supplied to ensure compliance; and

• (c) to carry out periodic reviews of the rates and principles for setting rates and standards of service.

10 The Commission therefore has responsibility for determining, monitoring and undertaking periodic reviews of the standards of service.

11 Section 4 of the URA stipulates that in determining standards of service the Commission shall have regard to:

• (a) the rates being charged by the service provider for supplying a utility service;

• (b) ensuring that consumers are provided with universal access to the service supplied by the service provider;

• (c) the national environmental policy; and

• (d) such other matters as the Commission may consider appropriate.

12 Before any standard of service can be determined, the Commission, according to Section 4 (4) of the FTCA, must consult with the service providers, representatives of consumer interest groups and other parties that have an interest in the matter before it.

13 The Commission may make orders imposing penalties for non-compliance with the relevant standards of service and prescribe amounts to be paid to consumers when a service provider fails to meet the standards. Section 38(c) of the URA provides that the Commission may make:

Orders with respect to

• i) imposing penalties for non-compliance with prescribed standards of service; and

• ii) prescribing amounts to be paid to the person referred to in Section 21 for failure to provide a utility service in accordance with the standards of service set by the Commission.

14 Rule 63 (2) of the Utilities Regulation (Procedural) Rules 2003, S.I. 2003 No. 104 indicates that service standards may include issues such as:

• (a) Universality of service;

• (b) The provision of new services;

• (c) The extension of services to new customers;

• (d) The maximum response time permitted for responding to customer complaints and queries; and

• (e) Standards related to service quality which is specific to each sector.

15 Under Statutory Instrument ( S.I.) 2006 No.5 the Telecommunications (Regulated Services) Order 2006, the following categories of telecommunications services were determined to be subject to regulation by the Commission:

• (a) International Telecommunications Services;

• (b) Domestic Voice Telecommunications Services;

• (c) Services in respect of Interconnection Charges;

• (d) Leased Circuits; and

• (e) International Simple Resale

SECTION 2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR

16 This section provides a brief overview of the recent developments within the domestic telecommunications sector. Barbados is leading the rest of the region when it comes to information and communications technology (ICT) development for the period 2012 to 2013. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) released the latest figures which showed that Barbados ranked third in the Americas and 29 ^th globally out of 157 countries assessed for the period.

17 The telecommunications environment in Barbados has become more diverse. Cable & Wireless which now operates under the trade name “LIME” has added television content to its product mix of landline, mobile and Internet (ADSL). Other operational changes to Cable & Wireless include an outsourcing agreement with Sony Ericsson to maintain its fixed line network.

18 Barbados' two well-established mobile operators, Digicel (Barbados) Limited (Digicel) and Cable & Wireless, have introduced 4G Service and currently offer a variety of data plans allowing users to choose according to their needs and budget. Customers can also choose between prepaid and post-paid offers for handset and computer-based usage. International Internet bandwidth per Internet user almost doubled, from around 38 000 bits/sec in 2011 to close to 70 000 bits/sec in 2012.

19 Since 2007, TeleBarbados Inc. (which was previously owned by Atlantic Crossings LLP) had been offering residential telephone and internet service and in 2012 two new operators entered the local market – the first was Karib Cable Inc. and the second was Columbus International Inc. (Columbus). Columbus subsequently purchased the assets of TeleBarbados Inc. Columbus subsequently also bought Karib Cable and, in Barbados, the amalgamated company trades as “Flow”. Columbus also provides a variety of telecommunications services including digital cable television, broadband Internet and landline telephony in several Caribbean countries.

20 On August 22, 2013 Digicel was granted a full domestic service license, enabling it to offer landline services to the domestic market. However, up to the time of issuing this Decision Digicel has not commenced offering landline services.

SECTION 3 ANALYSES OF RESPONSES AND DETERMINATION

3.0 General

21 The Commission's staff engaged with about thirty-five (35) persons, during a public outreach session, about their views on the performance of the regulated utilities. Persons generally expressed dissatisfaction with Cable & Wireless' performance, especially regarding fault repair.

22 In addition to the comments from the outreach session, the Commission received written responses to its Consultation Paper from Cable & Wireless and the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP). The Commission also analysed data from Cable & Wireless' standards of service reports over the period 2010 to 2013, and considered complaints and queries made by its customers.

23 The following is a summary of Cable & Wireless' and BARP's responses to the issues raised in the Consultation Paper and the Commission's comments and determination on the standards of service.

3.1 Changes to the Guaranteed Standards of Service

Increase in Compensation

• Q 1: WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON THE PROPOSED INCREASE IN COMPENSATION WITH REGARD TO THE FAULT REPAIR STANDARD? WHAT ALTERNATIVES WOULD YOU SUGGEST TO THE ONE OUTLINED?

• Q 2: DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THE COMPENSATION GIVEN UNDER THE FAULT REPAIR STANDARD SHOULD BE MORE IN LINE WITH A CUSTOMER'S BASIC LANDLINE TELEPHONE BILL AND THAT AN AFFECTED CUSTOMER'S TELEPHONE BILL SHOULD BE REDUCED IF THE PHONE SERVICE IS FAULTY?

24 Cable & Wireless and BARP were of the view that the proposed increase in the customer's...