SUBSCRIBER TRUNK DIALLING SYSTEM (Complaints)

Mr Tan Soo Khoon asked the Minister for National Development and Communications whether he is aware of the numerous complaints by telephone subscribers of wrong charging over the Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) system and if he will request the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (i) to review the STD system and rectify any faults: and (ii) to allow subscribers the choice of whether or not they wish to be provided with the STD facility.

The Senior Minister of State for Communications (Mr Ong Teng Cheong) (for the Minister for National Development and Communications): Mr Speaker, Sir, a total of 190,000 subscribers use the Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) system, 40,000 of whom are regular users.

Each month the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore has to go through 275,000 exchange lines to bill users of the STD. Of these, there are on the average about 20 cases of wrong charging mainly due to human error. The error rate is therefore only 0.007%. In all these cases, the subscribers' bills are subsequently corrected accordingly. The TAS is monitoring this matter closely to reduce the number of faults and improve the quality of service.

The present automatic STD system is convenient, efficient and cheaper for subscribers who want to make calls to Peninsular Malaysia. Without this automatic STD system, the manually operated service will not be in a position to handle the volume of telephone traffic to Peninsular Malaysia. The manually operated service is generally inefficient, uneconomical and requires more manpower.

To eliminate wrong charging in the STD system, the TAS is investigating the use of sophisticated computer switching equipment which can print out all the details of STD calls, such as the destination of call, the called party number, date of call and duration of call. However, the deterrent factor of this equipment is its high cost.

The TAS is also looking into the practicality of providing trunk-barring facilities to subscribers who do not want STD facilities. The TAS has been cautious in considering the offer of such an option because it results in the inefficient use of the automatic STD equipment and may overload the manual trunk service. If this happens, the manual service will deteriorate. To sustain an acceptable grade of service, the cost of providing the manual service will increase; and this additional cost would have to be passed on to the public, a situation which we would want to avert.