Globe issues response to MNP article by STAR columnist
Philstar.com received a response letter addressed to STAR editor-in-chief Anna Marie Pamintuan regarding a recent column that came out on the STAR titled “MNP delay a disservice to the public” by columnist Mary Ann LL. Reyes.
Below is the response by Globe Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP for Corporate Communications Yoly Crisanto on how Mobile Number Portability or MNP shows telcos' commitment to public service.
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We write in response to the Hidden Agenda column by Mary Ann LL. Reyes published on October 16, 2021 entitled “MNP delay a disservice to the public” (https://www.philstar.com/business/2021/10/16/2134426/mnp-delay-disservice-public) in order to get the facts straight and not to mislead the public.
Ms. Reyes outlined Republic Act 11202 or the Mobile Number Portability law, which is now in its commercial phase and three guiding principles in the implementation of the law.
In her column, Reyes pointed out: “Now that the MNP Law has finally been (in) effect, the so-called growing pains keep mounting." She went on to insinuate that the service defects are exclusive to only one provider stating, "Smart, for one, has complained to the NTC that Globe subscribers are facing difficulties in shifting to the Smart network. It said that 38 percent of transfers had failed due to technical issues from Globe as of Oct. 5".
Contrary to the claim of Ms. Reyes, the initial issues and defects involving MNP have been addressed because all mobile operators have been working closely with each other to make sure that the service is as seamless to the extent possible given its interoperability with three different providers. To this day, all operators remain vigilant to ensure any new service issues will be addressed expeditiously. Case in point is that new processes are being put into place to make the experience fully digital so that customers wanting to port need not go to a physical store to apply.
This new process is meant to make porting in or out as easy as possible. Unfortunately, Ms. Reyes used a narrative peddled by Smart who is only too eager to talk about the 'defects'. Ms. Reyes should have taken the step to validate with TCI, which is the official repository of all information and data pertaining to the MNP.
Across all operators, TCI will be able to describe the difficulties and “service defects” experienced by all operators. In the same vein, they are also aware of Smart or DITO customers who complained of issues as these subscribers intended to transfer to the Globe network. Suffice it to say, Ms. Reyes should not have been too quick to use a narrative without checking her facts first.
She went further on to say that, "Several of the complaints involve Globe’s Gomo brand, which earlier sent an advisory to its subscribers that it can only participate in the MNP by October due to unavoidable technical issues."
Globe complied with RA 11202 by making sure that all its core mobile brands are able to provide MNP service on September 30, 2021. Globe duly informed its GOMO customers and even TCI of the delay even prior to September 30. We take exception to the baseless claim of Ms. Reyes because during the ensuing gap between September 30 and October 12 when GOMO started offering its MNP service, we received no application from a GOMO or non-GOMO customer to either port in or out of the GOMO network. So if no customer wants to avail of the service, who will complain? True to experience, we did not receive any complaint concerning GOMO in relation to MNP during the said period.
Ms. Reyes also mentioned several countries where MNP is enforced because globally, MNP is not a new service. What Ms. Reyes failed to inform her readers is the length of time each country took to enforce MNP. Take the case of Vietnam as mentioned in her column. It took Vietnam over 5 years to fully operationalize MNP since its Telecommunications Department ordered the Ministry of Information and Communications to implement this service. Other countries also had a longer implementation phase.
In the Philippines, all operators targeted September 30, 2021 as the date of MNP commercial launch even as all systems and interoperability tests were being done during the COVID-19 pandemic! All operators are fully aware that “birth pains” are expected and inevitable in integrating a whole new system with that of the current systems of three operators with incompatible network architectures.
Had the Philippines followed global practice, these “birth pains” could have been further avoided. Be that as it may, the delays experienced are also not unique to the Philippines. Other countries with this service also went through initial issues, this despite taking a longer time to implement MNP.
The Philippines is but 18 days since the commercial launch of MNP, as of this writing. And the current implementation in the Philippines is now more complex because it has crossed the realm of bundled applications which require multiple authentication, digital payment gateways and other digital platforms. This is due to the proliferation of various digital applications as more customers adapt to the digital way of life.
To be clear, Globe and GOMO are providing MNP service. Let no one say otherwise. Indeed, we are deeply grateful to our customers for choosing Globe over other providers. If no mobile operator was able to implement the MNP service as mandated, not only is that a disservice to the public but a disaster for the industry. Fortunately for our country that is not the case.
Sincerely,
Yoly C. Crisanto
SVP for Corporate Communications and Chief Sustainability Officer
Globe
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