The telecommunication, media and entertainment sector, covers a wide range of companies which deal with the storage and transmission of information and/or data. The industry is best understood by dividing it into sub sectors such as hardware, semiconductors, software, media and telecommunications (Investopedia.com, 2022). Companies that fall under the hardware sub-sector create server systems, manufacture computers, mobile and storage devices such as handsets and tablets. The semi-conductor sector produces and develops circuits and microchips used in computer applications. On the other hand, software firms manufacture computer and/or mobile applications for enterprises. 

Media firms are in the business of developing, producing, and distributing multimedia content in various forms. It can be news media, social media, web media, print media and these include companies that are into entertainment which offer streaming video services, online gaming, digital audio work stations, betting platforms and so on (Kumar, 2022). The telecom sub-sector consists of all industries that are into communication related businesses. They transmit data as text, voice, audio and/or video across the world and use tools such as phones, television (TV), and the Internet. It is a network industry.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) provides international policies, standards, recommendations, laws and regulations that define how the industry functions and these are the quality assurance components. It functions in three forms: radio communications, standardization and in development (ITU, 2023). The interaction among technology, economics and the law cannot be over emphasized in the telecommunication, media and entertainment sectors (Antonio and Antonio, 2020). The telecommunication industry has an impact on the environment for example, carbon emissions exacerbating effects of climate change (Ericsson, 2021). Therefore, operations need to be regulated to protect the environment and people. Quality and quality assurance issues become inevitable in such circumstances since quality is conformance to standards and regulations and if quality assurance is an integral part of this sector, SDGs 3 (Good health and well-being) and 11 (Sustainable cities and communities) can be achieved. In addition, if companies are to excel in their effort to satisfy customer needs and wants, robust quality management systems must be adhered to.

The world has become a global village, and the telecommunication industry has made it a possibility (Farooq and Raju, 2019). Quality assurance becomes a priority in information and communication technology (ICT) as the driving force in the industry for economic growth worldwide (Mohanty, 2019). ICT is bringing about innovation, increasing productivity and fostering global connectivity. Telecommunication and media companies are faced with a challenge to provide quality services to their customers and exceed their expectations of faster data connectivity, reliability, responsiveness, quicker video streaming and having access to numerous multimedia applications. The industry has suffered huge losses due to cyber-attacks, and this includes the “damage and destruction of data, stolen money, lost productivity, theft of intellectual property, theft of personal and financial data, embezzlement, fraud, post-attack disruption to the normal course of business, forensic investigation, restoration and deletion of hacked data and systems, and reputational harm” (Cybersecurity Ventures, 2020; Enghouse Networks, 2020). Cyber security has become a big quality issue in protecting and safeguarding systems against cyber threats. A wholesome robust quality management system can be a precursor to cyber security. It allows quality planning, quality control, quality assurance, quality improvement and enhancement where threats can be detected before they cause damage. Compliance to legal, ethical and professional standards in the industry is crucial and that again is part of assuring quality in this sector. Non-compliance results in penalties and reputation damage which lead to the loss of customers’ confidence in certain services and products. The cost of rebuilding a reputation is higher than the cost of implementing quality and quality assurance.

Operations, processes, procedures, components and all aspects of the company have to be quality assured. Quality and quality assurance issues are vital for companies if they are to satisfy customers and keep abreast with the intense competition among service providers and the unending expectations of their customers. The companies must meet and/or exceed their customer expectations as well as transform for the better through quality assurance practices like formative and summative assessments and evaluations of inputs, processes and outputs, all for self-improvement.  Service quality is one of the things that drive this intensive knowledge-based industry (El-Borsaly, and Hassan, 2020) because consumers are concerned about service quality. They measure the availability and reliability of the product/service, how secure the service is, the available choices, how simple the service is to use and they always look out for customer support and check the value for their money. This entails that companies must endeavor to provide excellent products and services to their customers. Research and development are a necessity in this volatile, complex and uncertain industry (Allam and Chan-Olmsted, 2021).

It is the mission of the Global Quality Assurance Association (GQAA) to create a culture of quality in the sector by rolling out capacity building activities to personnel in the telecommunication and media sectors. Every industry, organization, company, institution, government ministry or department, among other entities, thrives on research and development, which are the key components of genuine quality assurance. Research provides   authentic and quality assured information that can lead to informed decisions and implementation strategies. The GQAA is also involved in carrying out various research studies in the form of situational analysis, action research and needs analysis, to name a few.

The GQAA is at the disposal of every entity, to offer capacity building through training in quality assurance, assessments and evaluations as well as generating and designing tools/instruments, that are tailor-made to resolve some of the issues and minimize the negative impact caused by existing gaps in the system. The GQAA can also train researchers and developers on quality assurance in research and data collection. Quality assurance experts, the leadership and management as well as staff need continuous training in quality assurance in order to build the quality culture.  This will ensure that entities keep developing at par with technological changes while meeting and/or surpassing international standards. The GQAA’s mandate is to prepare the organizations for appropriate accreditations and certifications as well as create and develop quality assurance tools/instruments that can be used to plan, control, assure and improve the quality of products and services of the different entities in this sector. This is because the telecommunication, media and entertainment industry is guided by standards, rules and regulations which should be adhered to as part of compliance. Therefore, inputs, outputs as well as processes and operations need to be assessed, monitored and evaluated for conformity to standards and procedures. Corrections and changes are essential to ensure the development of the quality culture. The GQAA is always available to design appropriate, up to date tools for assessing, monitoring and evaluation of quality management systems and it is well known for fostering a quality culture in at continental level.

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