Vodacom fails Icasa call quality standards

Vodacom failed dismally in achieving the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) 2023 End-User and Subscriber Service Charter Regulations’ voice network quality standards.

Icasa gazetted its latest amendments to the End-user and Subscriber Charter regulations in March 2023, which sets out the standard of service South Africans should expect from mobile operators.

Icasa said the amendments strengthen the provision of quality of service for electronic communication services in the country.

The new regulations changed the parameters for expected service levels for voice and data from South African telecommunications players.

The regulations require mobile operators to achieve an Average Call Setup Success Ratio (CSSR) of 98% and an Average Dropped Call Ratio (DCR) of below 3%.

It further requires an Average Call Setup Time (CST) of below 9 seconds and Average Speech Quality Mean Opinion Score (MOS) of higher than 3.

To see whether mobile operators adhere to Icasa’s regulations, MyBroadband launched South Africa’s biggest-ever mobile network quality test.

This project uses Keysight’s network testing platform, Nemo, to test a range of variables using high-end smartphones.

MyBroadband worked with antenna and wireless communications specialist Poynting to design its test benches and testing vehicle.

The latest test results revealed that Vodacom’s voice network performance was far below the standards required by the 2023 End-User and Subscriber Service Charter Regulations.

In Hartbeespoort, Vodacom had an Average Call Setup Success Ratio of 91.84%, well below the required 98%.

Vodacom’s Average Dropped Call Ratio was 8.89%, again significantly worse than the 3% required by the regulations.

Vodacom’s Average Call Setup Time (CST) and Average Speech Quality Mean Opinion Score (MOS) exceeded the regulations’ requirements.

The table below shows Vodacom’s voice network performance in Hartbeespoort. Further reports will be released as the results become available.

Now read: South African voice network quality tested — with surprising results