City hall is working on a mobile app that will allow users to send feedback on the quality of the phone service they are getting.
If you are irritated by interrupted calls and slow 3G in Moscow, you might soon be able to have your say.
Moscow authorities have decided to check the quality of mobile service in the capital with the help of crowd-sourcing, inviting mobile phone users rather than mobile operators to give feedback.
The only thing the customer is required to do is to install a mobile phone application that will closely monitor all the interruptions and noises in the course of phone calls, as well as the speed of data transfer. The data collected will be sent to a special server and collected by IT specialists who will analyse the information and draw conclusions.
Subscribers will also be able to use an interactive map of Moscow to send in the reports of “black holes” around the city, areas where the mobile service is not available. This will help officials to understand where the new towers need to be installed.
The application and the map will be available in November at the website of the Information Technology Ministry.
The “big three” mobile operators told RT that they learned about the initiative from the mass media.
This is not the only good news for mobile phone owners. Lucky iPhone 4S users can now count not only on a better signal, but also on better navigation. As it turned out, the new phone enables them to track their location using the GLONASS system, the Russian rival of GPS. Samsung and Russian mobile provider MTS have also released devices supporting both systems.