The Quality of Service Index Check: Who is the best telecommunications company in Israel?

November 8, 2022   

The Ministry of Communications today (Tuesday) published the Quality of Service Index for 2022, an index that provides consumers in Israel with transparent information about the quality of services provided by various communications companies, and allows them to choose the communications providers that offer the best service - and not just the cheapest price. The index is published for the second year, and presents various aspects related to the quality of services that each company's subscribers receive. The data presented in the index was compiled from data from the Ministry's Supervision and Enforcement Administration, which regularly monitors communications companies' compliance with their license provisions and handles complaints and inquiries about various communications providers every day, as well as from surveys conducted at the Ministry's request by the Smith Research Institute - a satisfaction survey conducted in March 2022 among 703 respondents, and another survey that examined satisfaction with fiber optic service in June 2022 among 1,200 respondents. In addition, the index includes a test conducted by Rushink at the request of the ministry on waiting times at the companies' call centers, over 22 working days in March and May 2022. The 2022 Service Quality Index examined the communications companies in 5 areas of customer service and public inquiries: 1. Satisfaction with the communications companies' customer service and technical service - receiving a solution to the inquiry, the duration of the inquiry, satisfaction with the handling of the inquiry and the company's technical service in general. 2. Satisfaction with companies that provide fiber optic infrastructure - general satisfaction with the use of fiber and the company that provides the fiber infrastructure. 3. Response times at the communications companies' technical centers - the duration of the wait at the companies' technical centers. 4. Public inquiries - How many complaints were received in the Ministry of Communications' public inquiries area regarding the quality of service, information requests, bills, policy, sales, and cellular companies. 5. Bills and overcharges - Several complaints were received in the Ministry of Communications' public inquiries area about overcharges from communications companies during 2021. Main findings of the service quality index: Among Internet providers - Partner leads in customer service satisfaction with a score of 7.7 (unchanged from last year) and in technical service with a score of 8 (an increase of 7%). Hot-Net is in last place (as last year). In cellular - Golan Telecom leads in customer service satisfaction with a score of 7.9 (an increase of 20%) and in technical service with a score of 8.2 (an increase of 17%); Cellcom is in last place in customer service satisfaction (a decrease of 14%) and in technical service (a decrease of 5%). In landline telephones - Partner leads in customer service with a score of 7.8 and in technical service with a score of 7.9; Hot is in last place in both categories with a score of 6.2 in customer service and 6.7 in technical service. A satisfaction survey on fiber optic service revealed that 78% of fiber optic users are satisfied with the service. Cellcom leads in customer satisfaction with fiber optic service with a score of 8.5; Hot-Net is in last place with a score of 6.6. In the response time category of Internet and landline providers - Bezeq International leads with an average response time of 2:44 minutes (an improvement of 30%) and Xphone 018 is in last place with an average response time of 06:15 minutes; Hot's response time was longer than 60% compared to last year and stood at 5:40 minutes. In the category of response times for cellular companies - Telzer 019 leads with a response time of 4:23 minutes (an improvement of 12% from last year) and Partner is in last place with an average response time of 10:09 minutes (the response time was almost 2.5 times longer than last year). At Golan Communications Ltd., an unusual statistic was found according to which, at the time of the survey, approximately 35% of the calls were disconnected by the system before receiving service. In the field of public calls to the Ministry of Communications, a decrease of 15% was recorded in calls - the cellular company with the most calls relative to its size is Rami Levy Communications with approximately 7 calls per 10,000 subscribers. The leading company with the fewest calls relative to its size is Xphone 018, which had less than one complaint per 10,000 subscribers. In the field of public calls about bills and overcharges for Internet infrastructure companies - Cellcom stands out favorably with the lowest number of complaints relative to its size, while Partner received the highest number of complaints relative to its size. In the field of public calls about bills and overcharges for Internet providers - Triple C stood out favorably with the fewest number of calls relative to its size. INET received 127 inquiries per 10,000 of its subscribers - a highly unusual number in relation to its size in the market. As a result, the Ministry of Communications is currently examining the numerous inquiries received regarding the company and will act on the matter in accordance with its authorities. In the field of public inquiries about bills and overcharges of cellular companies - Telzer 019 stands out favorably with the fewest number of inquiries in relation to its size with 0.2 inquiries per 10,000 subscribers, while Rami Levy Communications received the largest number of complaints in relation to its size with 5.13 inquiries per 10,000 subscribers. During 2021, following the intervention of the Public Inquiries Division at the Ministry of Communications, an amount of 581,000 shekels was returned to consumers from communications companies. Minister of Communications, Yoaz Hendel: "Consumers in Israel deserve quality communications services at attractive and competitive prices, as well as excellent customer service. When I entered the ministry, we set a goal to encourage competition in the communications market, but also to improve the quality of service. One of the effective tools to encourage service improvement is the publication of a "Service Quality Index," which is designed to provide consumers with transparent and objective information and allow them to make an informed choice of the company that best suits their needs. I urge the consumer public to come in and be impressed by the Service Quality Index that we published today - now the power is in your hands." Director General of the Ministry of Communications, Liran Avishar Ben-Horin: "The Service Quality Index is a tool that empowers the Israeli consumer and provides him with important information about the quality of service of the various communications companies. Revealing the companies' performance and satisfaction with them encourages the companies to improve their service, and increases competition in the hearts of the consumer." _________