Orange wins in call quality survey

NEWS Orange has come out top in an Oftel-monitored call quality survey, with One2One in second place ahead of Vodafone, and BTCellnet trailing in last place. The wireless operators published their results independently, but Oftel worked closely with all four firms to ensure the accuracy of the information. Each company made 10,000 to 15,000 test calls in England, Scotland and Wales between April and June of this year, using industry-approved methodology. Orange had the highest percentage of successful calls, one of the lowest rates of failed set-ups, and the smallest number of dropped calls. BTCellnet, however, had the lowest percentage of connected and successfully completed calls, the highest rate of dropped calls, and the highest percent of failed set-ups. The surveys were prompted by Oftel's test report in January 1999, but the government body is insisting that the results should not be used as a definitive buyers-guide.