NTC sets rules to improve services of CMTS providers

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is set to issue anytime now a new set of rules that hopefully, will minimize if not totally eliminate the inconvenience and costs associated with drop calls and busy cellular networks.

NTC commissioner Eliseo Rio told The STAR that they will be signing soon a new memorandum circular that will penalize cellular mobile telephone service (CMTS) providers that will fail to meet certain service performance standards that aim to improve the quality of service being received by cellular phone users.

The new rules will be imposed on all existing CMTS operators, which include Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, Pilipino Telephone Inc. (Piltel), Isla Communications (Islacom), and Extelecom, as well as newly authorized ones, such as Digital Telecommunications (Digitel) which will begin commercial operations late this year.

According to the new rules, all CMTS operators shall adhere to a grade of service (GOS) of seven percent within the operator’s own network. This means that for every 100 calls, the number of times that a subscriber will get a "network busy" indication every time he calls should not exceed seven.

The GOS is a measure of the probability that during a specified period of peak traffic, usually the busy hour (BH), a call offered to a group of trunks or circuits will fail to find an idle circuit at the first attempt. The busy hour, on the one hand, is the continuous one-hour period when the traffic is at its peak.

The new MC also provides for an allowable drop call rate (DCR) of five percent. This means that for every 100 calls, the number of times that a call is irregularly terminated should not exceed five.

A drop call is a call that is irregularly terminated, which means that neither the calling party nor the called party has sent a call clear signal or initiated the end of the call. A call attempt that is dropped before six seconds after the called party answers shall not be considered a call and will therefore not be charged.

The rates were determined following a series of public hearings conducted by the NTC as well as internationally set standards, Rio said.

Rio admitted that there are remaining kinks as far as implementing and monitoring the standards, but he said that these will be ironed out later when they are already being implemented.

CMTS operators are encouraged to improve the GOS and DCR by one percent every two years until the GOS reaches four percent and the DCR, two percent.

Newly authorized operators may have a DCR of seven percent at the start of commercial operations. After one year from start of commercial operations, the DCR shall be five percent.

The DCR and the GOS will be measured based on the monthly statistical data from the operations of the CMTS network. The NTC however may conduct actual ocular inspections and/or actual test measurements anytime. During inspections and test measurements, the commission may allow representatives of consumer groups to participate.

The GOS and DCR shall be determined every quarter. If the operator fails to comply with these standards, they will be asked by the NTC to explain within a reasonable time the reasons why they failed to meet the prescribed standards. If the commission finds the reasons not meritorious, it may direct the CMTS operator to stop accepting new customers or subscribers until the standards are fully complied with.