What We Missed: NTC Memo Requires Better Service from Telcos
By Rico, 12:12 pm Mon Jul 20 2009 - News - 3 Opinions
Last month, the NTC released a memo detailing the “service performance standards for the cellular mobile telephone service”. That’s basically an official-sounding way of saying “give your customers sucky service, lagot kayo sa’min.” The full memo follows.
MEMORANDUM ORDER (No. 03-06-2009)
SUBJECT: SERVICE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR THE CELLULAR MOBILE TELEPHONE SERVICEWHEREAS, Sec. 5(a) of RA7925 mandates the Commission to ensure quality, safety, reliability, security, compatibility and inter-operability of telecommunications facilities and services in conformity with standards and specifications set by the international radio and telecommunications organizations to which the Philippines is signatory;
WHEREAS, Sec. 5(e) of RA7925 mandates to Commission to promote consumer’s welfare by facilitating access to telecommunications services whose infrastructure and network must be geared towards the needs of individual and business users;
WHEREAS, MC No. 07-06-2002 prescribes the service performance standards for the cellular mobile telephone service (CMTS);
WHEREAS, Sec. 4 of MC No. 07-06-2002 provides that “CMTS operates are encouraged to improve the grade of service (GOS) by 1% and drop call rate (DCR) by 1% every two (2) years until the GOS is 4% and the DCR is 2%;
WHEREAS, since six (6) years have already elapsed from the promulgation Memorandum Circular No. 07-06-2002, the GOS and DCR should have improved by 3% each;
WHEREFORE, the Commission, by virtue of the powers vested upon it by law, does hereby prescribe the following standards:
* Grade of Service (GOS) : 4% or 4 lost calls for every 100 call attempts
* Drop Call Rate (DCR) : 2% or 2 dropped calls for every 100 callsAll existing memoranda, circulars, rules and regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this memorandum circular are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.
This Memorandum Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days following the completion of its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines; Provided, that at least three (3) certified copies thereof be filed with the University of the Philippines Law Center.
Quezon City, Philippines, 30 June 2009.
So what does all that mean? Basically, the memo is a reminder to telcos of
- The NTC’s authority
- That their services’ reliability should’ve improved over the last six (actually almost seven) years
- that out of every 100 attempted calls, only four at most should fail to connect
- that out of every 100 calls, only two calls at most should get cut (”irregularly terminated”, or calls that end without the caller or the called pressing the end call button)
Sounds good right? Establishing service standards is one thing though; enforcing them is another. The best thing we can do is keep good records of our call activity, starting today. How many times has your call failed to go through? How many times was your call cut? With detailed statistics, you’ll have an easier time reporting any irregularities to the NTC.
Thanks Migs!
jpbl1976
9:09 pm Mon Jul 20 2009
I’ll be surprised if the telcos ever manage this. As I was typing this comment, I tried using my SMART mobile to call my landline and got a connection failure. This happens 4 out of 10 times for me and I can literally see a SMART cellsite outside my window. It’s ridiculous. The NTC should get SMART and Globe to improve their drop or failed-to-connect calls rate to just 10% first before they release a memo mandating a 4% rate, which is worse than a pipe dream. The NTC is a joke. It has never had any teeth so what’s the point of even coming up with a memo they can’t enforce? They’re doing this to tick boxes so their civil servants can collect their GSIS pensions when the time comes. What’s needed is more competition — and no, Sun doesn’t count because its service is even crappier than the other two’s.
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