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Phi-Metrics and Nielsen vie for 
150 Crore R-Com study
By siliconindia
Bangalore: Global telecom services organization Phi-Metrics and global research services provider Nielsen are vying for Reliance Communications' initiative of 'network benchmarking' study, according to sources close to the development.
However, refusing to comment on this development, an RCom Spokesperson said that soon the company will short list its project partner to launch the study, reports Business Line. The final decision is likely to be made by mid-September. According to him, the project is estimated to cost over 
150 crore for a "comprehensive, statistically valid network benchmarking on a nationwide scale."
Following its entry into the GSM segment in January this year, and also prompted by the fierce competition engendered by the entry of new players into the market, RCom launched the project to study and evaluate the quality of coverage, and audio quality as perceived by the end-user. This is in addition to TRAI's benchmarking criteria aimed at evaluating the operators' compliance to the minimum set license parameters on quality of services.
The findings of the study are expected in four to five months and will serve as a measure to judge RCom's network quality and performance. "The idea is to benchmark our services against all other service providers in the industry. It will be a yardstick for consumers to identify and associate with the best performing network in the country," the Spokesperson said.
RCom will study and compare its network quality and performance vis-a-vis other operators through a consumer perspective of competitive network offering. The study will be extensive enough to include 5,000 towns and one lakh villages. This will be scientific and unbiased and will help negate the unintentional bias suffered by operators and in turn help customers make the right choice.
150 crore for a "comprehensive, statistically valid network benchmarking on a nationwide scale."
Following its entry into the GSM segment in January this year, and also prompted by the fierce competition engendered by the entry of new players into the market, RCom launched the project to study and evaluate the quality of coverage, and audio quality as perceived by the end-user. This is in addition to TRAI's benchmarking criteria aimed at evaluating the operators' compliance to the minimum set license parameters on quality of services.
The findings of the study are expected in four to five months and will serve as a measure to judge RCom's network quality and performance. "The idea is to benchmark our services against all other service providers in the industry. It will be a yardstick for consumers to identify and associate with the best performing network in the country," the Spokesperson said.
RCom will study and compare its network quality and performance vis-a-vis other operators through a consumer perspective of competitive network offering. The study will be extensive enough to include 5,000 towns and one lakh villages. This will be scientific and unbiased and will help negate the unintentional bias suffered by operators and in turn help customers make the right choice.