Business Telecoms in Japan

Japanese businesses are generally happier with their telecoms providers than they were two years ago, according to J.D. Power & Associates. Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) ranks highest in customer satisfaction among nine providers.

The annual Asia Pacific Japan Business Telecommunications Satisfaction StudySM measures businesses' satisfaction with their telecoms providers' performance on six key factors. In order of importance, the six are maintenance services, security/global support, network quality, sales/account representatives, setup processes and cost.

IIJ topped the overall list for the third consecutive year, with a score of 773 out of a maximum 1,000 points, and scored highest in three of the six individual areas: maintenance services, network quality and sales/account representatives. It performed particularly well in attributes such as quality in the data communication process, capacity of the network, and sales representatives' knowledge of network infrastructure.

Second was NTT-ME with 761 points and top rankings in two specific areas, security/global support and setup processes. POWEREDCOM came third with 756 points and came first for cost.

The industry average score for overall satisfaction has improved by nearly 30 points compared to 2002-increasing to 744 from 713 points in 2002. Maintenance services have seen an improvement in satisfaction levels, and satisfaction with network quality has jumped 40 points over the past three years. On the down side, customers are largely dissatisfied with sales/account representatives, with falling scores since 2003 for reps' ability to advise clients, along with knowledge and the provision of information.

Confidence in the provider and high network quality were given as the two key reasons for choosing one supplier over another, but the number citing lower cost and cost performance has increased over the past three years.

Just over 2,900 individuals, responsible for information systems at companies with 100 or more employees, were interviewed in June and July. J.D. Power Asia Pacific was established in 1990 and is online at www.jdpower.co.jp . The group's web site is at www.jdpower.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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