The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) received 6,126 complaints during 2020, of which 5,706 were successfully addressed, TRC Chairman Ghazi Al Joboor said. 

The response rate was 93 per cent, as there was a noticeable increase in the number of complaints during 2020 compared to 2019, which recorded 4,582 complaints, he said.

According to Joboor, the rise in complaints "was logical due to the circumstances of the pandemic and the shift to remote working and learning, which resulted in an increased number of Internet users, subscribers, and the use of telecommunications in general, in addition to postal services.

Internet related complaints amounted to 62 per cent of all complaints, Joboor noted. 

 "The total amount that has been provided to the Kingdom’s treasury since the establishment of the TRC to date reached JD1.948 billion, of which JD664 million have been provided to the Treasury since 2015,” Joboor said during a press conference held on Tuesday. 

 The conference reviewed the achievements of the TRC during 2020, as Jordan was ranked first, along with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the Arab world among regulators of telecommunications, according to the 2019 ITU survey.

As a response to the pandemic in the year 2020, the TRC proactively formed a crisis cell from the commission and technical directors of the main operators, he said.

"An emergency plan has quickly been adopted to face the pressures on communication networks and monitor their performance during the curfew and the lockdown,” the official said.

Jordan’s global index of cellular Internet service speeds improved by 30 places until the end of June 2020, moving from place 106 to 76, Joboor noted.

Joboor highlighted the huge role companies played regarding the response to the pandemic along with the management procedures and the efforts that the TRC has made. 

"The TRC has allocated special numbers for emergency services and inquiries by allocating short codes for the Civil Defence Directorate (CDD), the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education. The number of calls that the CDD received during March and April 2020, reached about 200,000 calls, which highlights the importance of such numbers and services,” Joboor added. 

The TRC has issued 12,000 permits for delivery services through the "Moneh” platform, which created a large number of work opportunities for young Jordanians during the lockdown.

"The TRC continues to license new delivery service companies, supervising and following up on the sterilisation process of vehicles and drivers working to deliver supplies and medicines between distribution centres and citizens in remote areas,” Joboor said.

According to Joboor, there were only 25 licensed delivery companies in Jordan before the outbreak of the pandemic, but by the end of 2020 there was a total of 158 delivery service companies. 

Joboor indicated that the TRC will be the first e-commission in Jordan despite the delay caused by the pandemic