NTC is under attack anew

By edu h. lopez MB


The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is under attack as more sectors have called for the revamp of the regulatory agency.


Earlier, former NTC chairman and now Rep. Joseph Santiago of Catanduanes has called not only for a restructuring but the abolition of the NTC.

"The regulatory agency has abandoned its duty to supervise and keep up the network efficiency standards of cellular mobile telephone system (CMTS) operators," says Rep. Santiago in a statement.

"NTC has voluntarily rendered itself toothless. In its latest ruling, the commission virtually surrendered its power to set and require compliance with minimum network performance standards to the very operators that are supposed to be regulated by the agency," said Santiago, who once served as NTC chief for two years.

"The NTC has just committed hara-kiri. What is the point of Congress giving the agency public funds for spending? We might as well abolish the commission."

Santiago was referring to a provisional order issued by the NTC last week. The new order effectively scrapped the network quality standards previously imposed on CMTS operators.

Under the new NTC guidelines, CMTS operators may set their own minimum service performance standards for new price plans, as long as the standards are disclosed to the NTC and to the subscribing public.

Under the previous NTC order, Memo Circular 07-06-2002, CMTS operators were mandated to maintain a Grade of Service (GOS) of at least seven percent and a dropped call rate (DCR) of no more than five percent.

This means that in order for a network to be considered efficient, at least 93 out of every 100 calls should succeed on the first attempt, and that no more than five out of 100 calls shall be prematurely and involuntarily terminated.

"This is pathetic. The NTC’s idea of upholding network efficiency standards is to allow CMTS operators to set their own rules. What the commissioners do not dare admit is that the NTC does not even have the ability to determine if the operators are in fact complying with their self-imposed standards," Santiago said.

He stressed that the NTC has not been conducting network efficiency tests regularly, nor sanctioning those violating previously set performance standards.

"This is totally wrongful. The NTC seems to be rewarding operators that have not been complying with mandatory performance standards. The commission also appears to be punishing operators that have invested large sums to build up their networks in order to comply with the minimum standards," Santiago added.

"During our watch, we worked hard to strengthen the NTC and make it a more effective instrument for the public interest. Sadly, the existing NTC leadership appears bent on emasculating the commission and on undermining its legal and moral authority," Santiago said.

NTC issued the new order pending resolution of the administrative cases earlier filed by Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel) and Innove Communications Inc. against Digital Mobile Philippines Inc., operator of Sun Cellular, for alleged violations of NTC Memo Circular 07-062002.

Piltel, a sister firm of Smart Communications Inc., and Innove, an affiliate of Globe Telecom Inc., had alleged that Sun Cellular was operating well below the network efficiency standards set by the NTC circular.

"Assuming for the sake of argument that the new NTC order is valid, Sun Cellular is technically still in violation because nowhere in their advertisements did they warn prospective subscribers of a dismal call completion rate when they (Sun Cellular) launched their unlimited 24/7 promotion," Santiago said "At this point, even Globe’s grade of service appears questionable because you can connect only after three attempts," he added.