NTC has criteria to evaluate telco services –Palace

Malacañang said Tuesday the government has a set of criteria to determine the quality of service being provided by telecommunications companies.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the National Telecommunications Commission's criteria included dropped calls and signal quality.

“Siguro po alam ninyo naman kung gaano talagang ka-miserable ang serbisyo,” the Palace official said in a televised briefing.

“At tingin ko karanasan din po iyan ng Presidente kasi hindi naman pupuwede na ang service ay malakas lamang sa Malacañang. So iyon po ang puno’t dulo kung bakit sinabi ng Presidente na iyong mga naghahawak ng certificate of public convenience ay dapat magbigay ng convenience sa publiko at hindi dapat nagpapahirap.”

President Rodrigo Duterte, in his State of the Nation Address on Monday, warned that Smart Communications, Inc. and Globe Telecom, Inc. would face expropriation if they failed to improve their services by December.

The President also said that in the next two years, he would improve the country’s telecommunication services by working with lawmakers.

“Alam naman po natin kung gaano kaimportante ang kumonikasyon sa panahong ito, pati nga po internet, karapatang pantao na rin. So iyon pong ninanais ng Presidente, kumikita naman ang mga telcos dapat mabuting serbisyo ang binibigay nila,” Roque said.

Roque added that Smart and Globe should improve their services whether or not their representatives get a chance to meet with the President to discuss the matter.

In response, Globe said it was heeding Duterte's call to improve its services, stressing that it earmarked $1.2-billion for its capital spending this year, mainly to finance its network and capacity builds.

It added that the launch of its mobile fifth-generation 5G services in the country was in the pipeline.

Nonetheless, Globe said some challenges still remained such as securing the necessary permits to put up more cellular sites for better signals.

Smart, on the other hand, had not yet commented on the President's statement. — DVM, GMA News