Neotel to address consumer concerns
Neotel has come under fire from NeoConnect and NeoFlex users who complained about poor service levels, helpdesk support problems, website load errors and the absence of bandwidth measurement tools.
Good news for Neotel subscribers is that the telecoms provider is actively addressing many of these problems and has shown a strong willingness to engage with consumers to resolve their problems. In a meeting between Neotel and MyBroadband, attended by Neotel executives from various departments, the company said that proactive steps are taken to address consumer concerns.
Network upgrades and growth
The biggest gripe from NeoFlex and NeoConnect subscribers remains network issues, something which Neotel says is mainly due to congestion on certain towers. Mukul Sharma, Neotel’s Executive Head of the Consumer Business Unit, says that these problems are typically area specific and are being addressed through tower upgrades and network expansions.
Pravin Dahiya, Neotel’s Executive Head of Networks, explains that while extensive network planning was done by the company, it can happen that some sites attract more users than expected which in turn cause quality of service problems for consumers in that area. Neotel’s Chief Technology Officer Angus Hay added that their network has ‘built-in’ monitoring tools, and that towers are upgraded as speedily as possible when congestion is noticed.
Neotel is also actively growing its network, and over the next three to six months the company is planning to double the number of towers it currently has to increase both network capacity and coverage. This should alleviate many of the network related problems users are currently experiencing.
Neotel added that they greatly appreciate the feedback that MyBroadband members give them regarding congested towers as it helps with their planning.
Call Centre problems
Another complaint from some Neotel subscribers is the poor helpdesk support they received when calling the company’s support numbers. Neotel’s Chief Sales and Customer Service Officer, Stefano Mattielo, says that the company is well aware of the problem and has discontinued their previous call centre outsourcing contract in preference of an improved solution.
The new support and helpdesk partnership will see more specialized agents and high level technical support, promising a more effective and streamlined process. The new system is set to kick in on 1 July, but Mattielo warned that it may become worse before it becomes better. He said that any new system will have hiccups, but he is confident that the move will be beneficial to subscribers.
Sharma said that the company recently solved the problem where certain websites were not loading. The problem was caused by a server configuration issue which proved challenging and time consuming to troubleshoot because it only happened intermittently.
One issue which remains unresolved is the absence of bandwidth monitoring tools or services which NeoFlex or NeoConnect clients can use to manage their monthly bandwidth usage. Sharma said Neotel is working on an email notification system, but they are unable to commit to a launch date at this stage.
Good news is that Neotel is looking at becoming more pro-active on MyBroadband to provide network updates, tower upgrades, planned network maintenance and active forum support. Sharma assured MyBroadband that Neotel will be addressing each of the specific issues that have been raised in the meeting, and that the company will be getting in touch with each subscriber who submitted information for the meeting.
Details about these developments will be shared in the Neotel forum.
Neotel consumer service discussion
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