Solon urges NTC to audit telco’s Internet services

MANILA, Philippines - The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) should go beyond testing Internet speed, and conduct a broader audit of telecommunication companies to assess the coverage and quality of services offered to make them provide faster and cheaper Internet access, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said.

The call was made after the NTC came up with a draft of guidelines for a speed test to determine if telco firms conform to their advertised Internet speed.

“An audit is necessary to determine the gravity of the problem of slow Internet connection in the country. This will become the basis for NTC to come up with new guidelines on acceptable speed and cost that telcos are duty-bound to follow,” Escudero said in a statement.

The new guidelines should effectively compel the telcos to invest in infrastructure and technology development so they could deliver faster data connection to their subscribers, he said.

The senator is of the view the slow Internet speed and service in the country could be easily addressed by requiring telcos to set aside a portion of their revenues for better network infrastructure.

According to an NTC study, the Philippines needs $16.6 billion, or around P750 billion to bring two megabits per second (Mbps) download speeds to 80 percent of the country’s households by 2016.

“The telcos have been reaping billions of pesos in profits at the expense of their subscribers, who continue to complain about the slow and expensive data services they provide,” Escudero said.

“I think it is more than fair and reasonable to compel telcos to spend on the necessary infrastructure expansions and upgrades that will allow them to provide some real service to individuals and industries that need reliable data connections,” he added.

The better quality of Internet service is needed to support the rising number of users and the growing economy.

“If we want to sustain the growth momentum of the economy, particularly the BPO (business process outsourcing) industry, we need to have the infrastructure to deliver reliable and high-quality Internet services,” Escudero said.

Last week, the NTC started the pilot test to measure the fixed broadband Internet service offered by firms Globe Telecom Inc., Bayantel, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Sky to compare with advertised speeds.

Rules for the measurement of mobile broadband meanwhile, are expected to be released by November.

While the measurement of Internet speeds would determine if deceptive practices are committed, Escudero said such would not result in faster and cheaper Internet.

“When the NTC confirms what millions of subscribers have been saying, what then? This is why the NTC needs to go further and find ways to force telcos to address the problem by building better network infrastructure,” he said. 

The latest household download index report by global Internet provider Ookla showed the Philippines placed 21st out of 22 countries in Asia in terms of Internet speed, trailed only by Afghanistan. 

The Philippines has a household download speed of 3.64 Mbps, way below top-ranked Singapore’s broadband speed of 122.43 Mbps and Hong Kong’s 102.96 Mbps.

Despite the poor quality of service, the Philippines is known to have the most expensive Internet service in the world.