NEWS The UK's four major mobile phone operators all badly failed their customers this New Year, according to the latest research into delivery delays and outright failures.
A backlog of SMS messages went undelivered for up to four hours while some never reached their intended recipient at all according to research from Sicap, which provides SMS service infrastructure.
Around the stroke of midnight mobile phone users, now dependent on texting as the communication tool of choice, went into a flurry of messaging, wishing all and sundry a happy new year. The total number sent is expected to have exceeded 100 million.
But Per-Johan Lundin, head of marketing at Sicap believes SMS may have been a misleading acronym around New Year as the short message service became "the slow message service".
While the research was far from exhaustive, Sicap set up tests in London on all the four major GSM networks, O2, Orange, T-mobile and Vodafone, and found none of them were performing optimally as Big Ben rang in 2004.
In fact the best operator Sicap measured, Vodafone, still took a pedestrian 16 minutes, while second best took one hour and seven minutes and third took four hours and 43 minutes. Worse still one operator failed to deliver the message at all, though Sicap declined to name and shame the offending operator.
One customer using the T-Mobile network, via Virgin mobile, told silicon.com: "I couldn't phone anybody or text anybody for almost an hour around midnight."
Other users have contacted silicon.com with similar tales of woe involving all operators.
Mike Grenville, CEO of 160 Characters, the mobile messaging association, has some sympathy for the operators but claims "they can't say they haven't been warned".
With each major event, whether it's the Rugby World Cup final, the Pop Idol final or New Year's Eve, we hear more and more about these periods of network overload. But Grenville believes peaks on previous New Year's Eves should have enabled network operators to plan ahead for this year.
"Operators need to plan more effectively for these events. Whether it's the rugby World Cup or New Year or Valentine's Day, all the trends are upwards - the volumes increase year on year and operators should be prepared for it," said Grenville.
However, while waits of several hours are still unacceptable, Grenville believes the networks performed better this year than last and says they do seem to be learning from experience.
But he warned of a particular danger on the horizon. With more and more people sending MMS messages, often with sound and picture files, these crunch periods on networks are likely to be far more severe on future New Years Eves as the level of data being transferred skyrockets.
Comments
There are 12 comments. Join the discussion
1. O-Dogg
They ask to much.Our expectations are too high of the networks.On the whole they do a excellent job we love to gripe.
2. Paul Wilson
Not only did they give a bad SMS service, I brought a new pay as you go for the wife, and could not top it up during the christmas period, as the service was not available for 5 days (vodaphone). Finally got to register the mobile phone on 4th January (what a loverly christmas present that turned out to be, especially as it only came with £1 credit). Lets give a big round of thanks for making the christmas period a time of taking (Mobile phone company's). A new meaning to a prosporous christmas and a new year.
3. Russell Eden
It's sad that so many people have nothing better to do that send text messages at midnight. They should get a life.
4. anonymous
On the other hand I'm the customer. If I pay for a service I expect to get it. I speak as one of those that did not receive the text message that was sent to me, in fact the sender only had about 50% of her SMS texts delivered. The Networks spend millions on advertising telling us how wonderful their products are but I don't remember seeing a disclaimer that said "well except when we are busy". Reasonable delay I can understand. Complete failure has to be totally unnaceptable.
5. S. Warne
Texting is all very well if you are not bothered about confirmation that the recipient received it on time. If you feel that strongly about getting the message across do what we all used to do and pick up the phone. (landline that is). Don't be so cheap!
6. Simon Hobson
Anonymous IT Director wrote : "On the other hand I'm the customer. If I pay for a service I expect to get it."
Well I agree, but I've been arguing with my mobile network for 9 months over exactly that - they've overcharged me on 9 out of 10 bills (the first one had no calls on it). The concept of the customer possibly being right does not exist with them ! The future's bright, pah, oh look at those pigs flying past my window.
7. Paul Robertson
We should be used to it by now midnight on New Years eve has taxed telephone services since Mr Bell invented them. If after all this time people do not realise that every body is trying to get through all at once, instead of doing what I do have another drink (or three) and phone at 1am.
8. Nic Saint
Thanks very much for your comments Rusell. I was away from my wife and young child this New Years and triede to stay in contact through SMS. Both of us use 02. My message sent at Midnight got to her at 6.30 in the morning and the one to me never arrived. I suggest you keep your idiot comments to your self if you don't know what you're talking about.
9. adrian
The service delays are acceptable, why should the network have to expand to cover what amounts to tens of hours of overload a year. Like email, no one said it was instant !
comment to paul.
maybe you should shop for the wife b4 xmas eve next year, you could then have registered, charged and topped it up before wrapping it.
10. anonymous
I bet the worst offender of the lot was Orange. Their service is absolutely diabolical.
They claim (I think) 90% coverage of the UK, yet when I had Orange, I was hardly ever in cover unless within three miles of the M1.
Their other services are terrible. They do not cash cheques for the bill, and then disconnect you for the privilege, and then charge you for the disconnected time.
They use underhand tactics, based upon careful wording. I asked to switch Tarif to a lower one, having a share plan with two phones on. They only switched the one phone, effectively increasing the inclusive minutes and as such the tariff (and the bill, of course).
Another sting I got was when I asked if calls to 0800 were free, and received a positive reply. So I connected my laptop to the internet, using my mobile and my freephone number. Only To receive a bill for £114.00.. Turns out they didn't tell me they charged for Data calls, whether 0800 or not.
BUT, the pay as you go service is OK, all you have to do is receive a call every six months to stay connected. So I switched to pay as you go and never buy any credit. I just ring it from my other mobile (Vodafone now) every six months. So I get a free connection now from them.
Some of the others arent much better. One wanted to charge me for them to monitor my calls, so that they could evaluate me at the end of the year in order to offer me a suitable new contract renewal.. My reply was if they want me to sign a new contract after the obligatory (why???) 12 months, then the onus was upon them to sell it to me, not for me to pay for it.
11. Brian Burkill
Simon Hobson wrote
"The concept of the customer possibly being right does not exist with them ! The future's bright, pah, oh look at those pigs flying past my window."
Hmm, Orange yet again. So many nightmares about that company..
12. anonymous
Having worked in the SMS arena this article (esp with relation to the source) is really a marketing ploy by Sicap. They have a fair point that the SMSs are not being delivered optimally but following a famous occassion a couple of years ago when TV voting really started (which crashed a certain UK GSM network) ALL of the operators now work firstly to keep the networks up and running and secondly to deliver the service as best they can.
Well done to all who stopped the networks from falling over!
It should be remembered that GSM networkd were NOT developed to incorporate sending SMS it was found that the call setup method could be used to send messages and it developed from there.
Hpy nu yr 2 u all :)