Around half of complaints over telecom services related to Internet — TRC

AMMAN — Almost half of complaints about telecom services in the first half of this year in Jordan were related to the Internet, according to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC).

Between January and June this year, the state-run TRC received 1,089 complaints compared with 1,181 complaints for the same period of the previous year, the commission said in response to questions by The Jordan Times.

The TRC said of the total complaints about telecom services during the first half of this year, 509 complaints were about Internet-related issues. 

About half, or 244 of the complaints about the Internet, were related to wireless services, 203 complaints were about ADSL services, 23 complaints were about Third Generation services and 10 complaints were about Internet quality, among others, according to the TRC figures.

Some Internet users said Saturday one of the main issues they face is disruption in services.

“I have a Fourth Generation subscription with one of the telecom companies. When I subscribed to their Internet service, they told me their service is without equal and that I would get the speed we agreed on. But unfortunately, there are disruptions in the service and I don't get what I paid for,” Mervat Marouf, a teacher, told The Jordan Times.

She called for following up on the services companies offer to users "as sometimes the advertisements are not accurate".

Ahmad El Sheikh, a salesman, agreed.

“I changed my 3G subscription from one telecom operator to another earlier this year. But nothing much changed. I still face some issues with the Internet, mostly related to speed. I live in Shafa Badran and the coverage is not perfect,” Sheikh said.

“It is very annoying when you're using the Internet and the speed is so slow… I never tried to complain because I guess it would take a long time,” he added. 

By the end of March this year, Internet penetration stood at 76 per cent, with some 5.9 million users, compared to 75 per cent at the end of 2014, according to the TRC

TRC said mobile penetration reached 147 per cent at the end of March, with 11.5 million active mobile subscriptions, 10.6 million of which are prepaid.