Performance Evaluation of Mobile Phone Services: A Perspective from a Developing Nation
Augustine Odinma
International Symposium on Performance Evaluation of Computer and Telecommunication Systems (SPECTS 2007)
San Diego, California (USA), July 16-18, 2007
SPECTS_Summary
Quality of mobile phone service regrettable assumes a different mediocrity meaning when applicable to developing nations. This is due in part to dubious acts of some of the equipment suppliers, lack of technical know-how and nepotism. Nigeria is the largest market for mobile phone services in Africa and many investors are queuing to take a share of the market. Some of these investors are operators in countries where error-free phone call services can be achieved at least 95% of the times. On the contrary, the networks some of these foreign operators manage in Nigeria experiences untold congestions, lost calls, cross-talk and premature disconnection of calls. This paper takes a performance evaluation of the mobile phone services in Nigeria. Test results for connectivity of each of the four operators and interconnectivity between the operators are presented. Some of the telecom policies, planning and operators conduct are also evaluated. The evaluation is intended to help the telecom planners in Nigeria and in other developing nations plagued with similar quality issues to take sound proactive measures in order to maintain a sustainable telecom industry that is robust and competitive. Moreover, it is intended to focus the mindset of the planners and operators alike to be customer oriented and quality conscious.