The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) has published a consultation document which proposes a Quality of Service Framework in respect of broadband Internet services.

The aim of this consultation is to establish a set of obligations that service providers will have to honour, which are intended to ensure that the service being enjoyed by the subscribers reflects the description of the service that they have subscribed to.

The Quality of Service Framework being proposed by the MCA is guided by four principles:

Broadband subscribers have a right to choose the ISP which best suits their needs.

A subscriber therefore needs to have access to the right information that will enable him to take an informed decision and that will facilitate comparison between the services being offered on the market.

Broadband subscribers have a right to know the performance of the broadband service that they are subscribed to.

ISPs should only propose on the market broadband packages which they can physically provide.

They should also ensure that their networks are appropriately designed /configured to provide the service sold for the duration of the contract term; andMarketing information presented by the ISPs should be based on information which represents realistically the service that they are providing.

'Following the implementation of the proposed framework, broadband subscribers will benefit from information about their broadband service which is comprehensive and comparable. This will help broadband subscribers better determine which type of broadband service is best suited to meet their needs,' said Ing. Philip Micallef, Executive Chairman at the MCA.

This is expected to be an improvement on the current situation whereby broadband subscribers are only provided with information about maximum download and upload speeds he continued.

This consultation document is available for download from the MCA website at www.mca.org.mt

Interested parties are to submit their comments by Wednesday 28th March 2012.