NTC should audit quality of telco services – Escudero

The country’s state regulators have been urged to audit the quality of the country’s telecommunications services after the Philippines ranked second slowest in Asia at 21st out of 22 countries in Asia in terms of having the slowest Internet speed, trailed only by Afghanistan.

According to the latest household download index report of global Internet provider Ookla, the Philippines registered a household download speed of 3.64 Megabits per second (Mbps) while top-ranked Singapore has a broadband speed of 122.43 Mbps and Hong Kong clocked in with 102.96 Mbps.

Worst, even with such poor service, the Philippines is tagged as having one of the most expensive Internet services in the world.

Hence, instead of just testing Internet speed, state regulators should audit the coverage and quality of local telecom providers in the country.

As the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) conclude drafting the guidelines for a speed test this month, Senator Francis Escudero batted for a broader audit to determine if telcos abide by their advertised Internet speed.

“An audit is necessary to determine the gravity of the slow Internet connection problem. It will become the basis for NTC to come up with new guidelines on acceptable speed and cost for telcos,” he underscored.

Furthermore, the new guidelines should require telcos to invest in infrastructure and technology development to deliver faster data connection to their subscribers.

Ideally, the law should require telcos to set aside a portion of their huge revenues for better network infrastructure, according to the senator.

In order to bring two megabits per second download speeds to 80 percent of Philippine households by 2016, a telco should spend $16.6 billion, or around 750 billion, an NTC study maintained.

Escudero lambasted the telcos for “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.”

“It’s more than fair and reasonable to compel them to spend on the necessary infrastructure expansion and upgrades to provide real service to individuals and industries that need reliable data connections.”

He said that NTC should make sure that the data experience meets the requirements and expectations of the country’s Internet users, who are now close to 40 million.

“If we want to sustain the growth momentum of the economy, particularly the BPO industry, we need to have the infrastructure to deliver reliable and high-quality Internet services,” the senator reiterated.

In a recent Senate hearing, NTC officials announced they will monitor the Internet speed being provided by telcos and compare these with their advertised speed starting this September.

The move was part of government efforts to address the problem of slow Internet in the country.

“At best, Internet speed monitoring can only be a measure against deceptive or misleading advertising, but it would not result in faster and cheaper Internet,” Escudero concluded.