AN ASSESSMENT

The objective of this research was to assess the quality of service delivered by MTN to itssubscribers. The mobile telecommunications industry in South Africa is not sufficientlycompetitive and so mobile operators can afford to ignore the quality of services theyprovide to their subscribers while charging high rates.The contemporary SERVQUAL instrument was used for this study. It measured Zone-of-Tolerance between minimum, acceptable service and desired (or expected) levels ofservice and compared these levels to perceptions of actual service delivered. Aconvenience sample of 100 prepaid MTN subscribers was used in the study, as well asfive MTN management staff. The results were analysed and then processed using factoranalysis and K-Means clustering.This research shows that the provider and consumer of the service view service qualityfrom the same perspective and that the provider has a very good understanding of theconsumer expectations with respect to desired quality of service. “Dependability” (orreliability), “Assurance”, and “Responsiveness” are identified as the three most importantunderlying dimensions that impact on service quality.These findings emphasise the need for the service provider to continuously engage andinteract with its subscribers/clients so that it is always aware of their changing desires andexpectations regarding service quality.