NTC tightens screws on telcos over poor mobile service

The country’s three major telcos face mounting regulatory pressure to improve mobile broadband quality after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) found no measurable improvement in previously flagged weak-service areas across Metro Manila.

The regulator said Saturday it revalidated its September findings and found that poor mobile broadband signals from DITO Telecommunity Corp., Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. remained substantially unchanged from tests conducted in the first and second quarters.

The findings suggest that persistent service gaps remain unresolved despite the operators being given time to undertake urgent corrective measures.

The NTC has prepared show-cause orders against all three operators and imposed a penalty of P100,000 per day starting Friday until the identified deficiencies are fully corrected.

For Globe, the NTC flagged Manila, Makati and Quezon City as areas of concern in its September revalidation.

DITO’s problem areas were San Juan, Pasay and Las Piñas, while Smart was cited for Parañaque, Manila and Pasig.

The regulator said it will also continue monitoring mobile broadband performance in other parts of Metro Manila.

Under Section 17(a) of the Public Service Act, the NTC is authorized to investigate and enforce compliance with its standards, rules, regulations, and other requirements.

The regulator said it “commits to take decisive action in enforcing compliance with quality-of-service standards” and will conduct bi-weekly re-testing in affected areas to check whether operators are implementing the required network improvements.