Former chief calls for abolition of NTC

[silver_corolla]

By Carlo Leo C. Manuel
Tuesday, 05 31, 2005


Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago, a former commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), is calling for the abolition of the very agency he once headed due to the provisional order the NTC issued last week which he said effectively erased the network quality standards previously imposed on mobile phone operators.

In a statement, Rep. Santiago said the NTC has abandoned its duty to monitor and maintain the network quality standards of cellphone companies.

“This is a case where a government regulator has voluntarily rendered itself toothless. In its latest ruling, the NTC has surrended its power to set and compel compliance with network performance standards to the very companies they are supposed to regulate,” he said. “The NTC has just committed hara-kiri. What is the point of spending public money on this agency? It might as well be abolished.”

Santiago served as NTC commissioner from December 1998 to January 2001.

Under NTC Memo Circular 07-06-2002, mobile phone operators were mandated to maintain a Grade of Service (GOS) of at least 7 percent and a dropped call rate of only 5 percent. This means that not more than seven out of every 100 calls shall fail on the first attempt and not more than 5 out of 100 calls shall be prematurely and involuntarily terminated.

But under the new guidelines the NTC has issued, operators can set their own minimum service performance standards for new price plans as long as they disclose these standards to the NTC and the public. These carriers are given two years to comply with the standards set by the 2002 memo circular.

[mazdamazda]

[B]“The NTC has just committed hara-kiri. What is the point of spending public money on this agency? It might as well be abolished.”

he must be smoking pot since it is the NTC that is contributing to the nat'l treasury (hundreds of millions, even billions when the 3g licensing pushes through) while they only operate on a shoestring budget.

[IceColdBeer]

Hay meron na namang politikong nabayaran. When smart or globe started way back before, the quality isn't that good either so ano problema ngaun sa Sun? Hayaan na lang nila ang tao ang pumili kung ano'ng network gusto nila.

[pissword]

Pumapapel....

[squala]

Globe was down when people had difficulty sending text messages to one another. Smart made a good impression especially when Santiago himself urged the two networks to interconnect as Globe refused to allow sending and receiving SMS to and from Smart users. A few years later, Sun came in as a more affordable network, currently describable as all-show and not much go.

The saying prevails, "Pay more for more."

[pissword]

maybe a few months back pwede pa yang all-show and not much go for sun.. pero ngayon maganda na siya lesser ang problems, easier ang connection, even ang quality and even ang length tumatagal na talaga hehe pero syempre not like the other two telcos pa rin...

anyway.. dadating din naman yan dyan, yung ginawa nga ng NTC parang binawasan lang ang chance na mamonopolize(tama ba term?) ng globe and smart ang telco industry.

[Yoda]

This is stupid:

"But under the new guidelines the NTC has issued, operators can set their own minimum service performance standards for new price plans as long as they disclose these standards to the NTC and the public."

They're supposed to be this "regulatory body" which looks out for the best interests of the consumers. Hay, buhay.

[Altis6453]

Insider info lang po. I've worked in the telecom industry. The present Commissioner has no experience with telecoms kasi. I guess if he's replaced with someone who's from the industry, then the NTC memorandum circulars would make better sense.

[silhouette]

This is stupid:

"But under the new guidelines the NTC has issued, operators can set their own minimum service performance standards for new price plans as long as they disclose these standards to the NTC and the public."

They're supposed to be this "regulatory body" which looks out for the best interests of the consumers. Hay, buhay.

MISMO! What's the point of their existence anyway.
The direction should always be for the better. If the new comers cannot meet the existing standards. Then don't operate. That simple.

[mazdamazda]

Santiago served as NTC commissioner from December 1998 to January 2001.

Ah yes... I remember the good old days when you have to:

> stand on a chair / bench
> extend your arm while clutching your fone
> point the antenna of your fone towards yourself (sinong nagpauso ba nito?)

just to send text messages.

[silver_corolla]

Ah yes... I remember the good old days when you have to:

> stand on a chair / bench
> extend your arm while clutching your fone
> point the antenna of your fone towards yourself (sinong nagpauso ba nito?)

just to send text messages.

Bakit mo naman binuking si Ex-Commissioner na gumagamit sya ng Globe SIM dati.

[silver_corolla]

MISMO! What's the point of their existence anyway.
The direction should always be for the better. If the new comers cannot meet the existing standards. Then don't operate. That simple.

Mabuhay kayo Yoda at Silhouette!!!! Itayo natin ang karapatan ng mga maralitang manggagawa!!

[silver_corolla]

Insider info lang po. I've worked in the telecom industry. The present Commissioner has no experience with telecoms kasi. I guess if he's replaced with someone who's from the industry, then the NTC memorandum circulars would make better sense.

Sus!!!! Kaya naman pala.. No wonder why... tsk. tsk. tsk.

[Tacoma_34]

ideally dapat 2 lang ang GOS, btw wala pang 3G sa pinas

[Yoda]

MISMO! What's the point of their existence anyway.
The direction should always be for the better. If the new comers cannot meet the existing standards. Then don't operate. That simple.

Meeting standards is trivial now, because you can set your own! :P 5% success rate is perfectly acceptable, just let the NTC know beforehand.

San ka ba naman nakakita ng...

Kung di ka ba naman na-high blood.

[Yoda]

Ah yes... I remember the good old days when you have to:

> stand on a chair / bench
> extend your arm while clutching your fone
> point the antenna of your fone towards yourself (sinong nagpauso ba nito?)

just to send text messages.

You forgot...

Police: Bentot, wag mong ituloy! Maraming nagmamahal sa iyo. Paki-usap, wag ka nang tumalon!
Bentot: Tumahimik kayo dyan! Bababa ako pag na-send ko na ito!

:D

[silver_corolla]

ideally dapat 2 lang ang GOS, btw wala pang 3G sa pinas

Kapag ganito lalong madidiin si Sun. Hehe....

[silver_corolla]

Meeting standards is trivial now, because you can set your own! :P 5% success rate is perfectly acceptable, just let the NTC know beforehand.

San ka ba naman nakakita ng...

Kung di ka ba naman na-high blood.

:lol:

[silver_corolla]

NTC asks solon to reconsider call to abolish agency
(INQ7.net, Erwin Lemuel Oliva) THE NATIONAL Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has appealed to a former colleague to reconsider his call for the agency's abolition.






THE NATIONAL Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has appealed to a former colleague to reconsider his call for the agency's abolition.
"On his call for the abolition of NTC, his former office, the present Commissioners and all the employees of NTC are hoping he will reconsider his very surprising action," the NTC said in a statement obtained by INQ7.net on Wednesday.

Reacting to Congressman Joseph Santiago's public criticism of a recent agency decision, the NTC assured the lawmaker that its new ruling would promote public interest and encourage competition among local carriers. In a ruling dated May 23, 2005, the NTC relaxed previous service performance standards, allowing mobile companies to set their own minimum service criteria.

The agency stressed however that this rule applies only to innovative price plans or to "unlimited voice and text offerings" and not to regular text and call services of local mobile phone operators.

"The NTC did not abdicate or scrap nor has intention to abdicate or scrap, the existing service performance standards prescribed by the Commission. For regular text and call services, where mobile phone companies impose a per minute charge on voice calls and impose a charge on every text message sent, these companies are still required to comply with NTC's mandated standards of seven percent Grade of Service (GOS) and Drop Call Rate of five percent set forth in NTC Memorandum Circular No. 07-06-2002," the NTC statement added.

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

The regulatory body further explained that the recent "interim guidelines" issued were designed for innovative price plans offered by mobile companies, such as Sun Cellular's 24/7 and Smart's 25/8.

"The NTC is guided by the fundamental dictates of public interest and convenience and, at the same time, the critical need to balance its desire to allow the market to freely compete in an environment of minimal regulation against NTC's duty to protect the consuming public by ensuring that the delivery of new and innovative services by mobile phone players meet certain minimum standards.

The regulatory body assured Congressman Santiago that it is "serious in strictly enforcing these self-imposed service performance standards by mobile companies for their innovative price plans."

NTC added that fines and penalties will be imposed on any mobile company that fails to meet its own standards for its ongoing and future promotional plans.

"Today, consumers' desires and needs are different and more varied. The popularity of the new and innovative price plans reflects the appreciation that consumers have the options that enable them to shop for and choose the price-quality package that might best suit their needs. Therefore, while the Commission has no desire to abdicate its role in ensuring quality and maintaining minimum standards, it must also be careful not to overprotect consumers through rules that could limit their ability to purchase the mix of service they desire," NTC Commissioner Ronald Solis added in the statement.

Former NTC chief Santiago criticized NTC's latest ruling this week, saying that the regulatory body has surrendered its power to set and require compliance with minimum network performance standards to the very operators supposedly regulated by the agency.

"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," he said.

Santiago called NTC's new policy guideline “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," he continued.

Santiago pointed out that the NTC, in fact, has neither been conducting network efficiency tests regularly nor sanctioning violators of 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.

But the agency said that while the new ruling will now allow mobile operators to set their own minimum standards, they are still required to submit and disclose standards to NTC prior to its offering.

It added that operators are also required to inform consumers through advertisements and other forms of information campaign about the "lower-standard" service they should expect from unlimited text and call services, among others.

[silver_corolla]

NTC is under attack anew
Manila Bulletin, Edu Lopez


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





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.