NTC eyes new rules on data usage due to rising complaints

MANILA, Philippines - The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is studying the possibility of promulgating a new set of rules due to the rising number of complaints on the mobile data service cap imposed by telecommunications companies.

For one, NTC commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba has summoned Globe Telecom Inc. senior vice president Froilan Castelo to appear before the regulator on Feb. 13 to explain the alleged data capping implemented by the Ayala-led telecommunications provider.

“The commission has received several complaints on your alleged data capping. Complaints alleged that you are placing them on the network with slow data connection once they reached a certain volume of data of 1 gigabyte,”Cordoba said.

He also directed Castelo through the letter dated Feb. 1 to submit comment and explanation on the rising number of complaints on or before Feb. 12.

For his part, NTC director Edgardo Cabarrios said in a telephone interview that the regulator is looking whether there is a need to promulgate a new set of rules on data capping.

 â€œWe are now studying if there is a need to promulgate new rules to cover this issue,” Cabarrios said.

He said NTC has decided to summon Globe to numerous complaints received by the regulator as well as posted in the social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and even in blogs.

Subscribers of Globe are up in arms over the implementation of a mobile data service cap of 1GB per day or 3GB per month as stated in their “fair use” policy. Usage beyond the allocation would result to the downgrade to the much slower 2G network.

In a statement, Castelo said Globe Globe first implemented its fair use policy in 2010 covering prepaid calls, texts and data promos but only enforced the policy for postpaid data plans last month.

Even in the past until today, he explained that the fair use only affects a small number of subscribers as this is necessary to protect the network against abuse, examples of which come in the form of unli promos meant for consumers but are used for business, text spamming using prepaid unli promos. 

He added that Globe enforced the policy for postpaid data plans to protect the data experience of the majority of subscribers who regularly use the network for work or leisure.

 â€œThe fair use policy is an industry issue that is being implemented by all telco players in the country, even globally in the most advanced economies,” Castelo said.

“We now have the most improved network in the country designed for the modern digital lifestyle of Filipinos. We recognize that our customers have varying needs of data usage. Consumer demand for data is steadily growing brought about by changing lifestyles and the influx of smartphones,” he added.

Amid burgeoning consumer use of smartphones and other mobile data devices, network data traffic reports showed a surge of over 300 percent during peak hours over the last two years.  Data usage reached 47 gigabits per second (Gbps) in 2013 from only 12 Gbps in 2011. 

Data user reports also indicate that heavy users only account for less than three percent of total data subscribers, yet consume a disproportionate amount of network capacity.  This has led to a degradation of network performance during peak periods of the day and clearly affecting the majority of subscribers who use data prudently.

 â€œWe want our customers to understand that the ultimate goal of the policy is to protect them because we want the regular data users who use the internet for work or leisure to have a consistently great data experience.   Heavy users will affect their experience and this is what we are guarding against,” adds Castelo.

Cabarrios pointed out that telecommunications providers are free to impose a cap on their subscribers’ data consumption but should be able to communicate the limitations to the costumers.

 â€œThis should be communicated well with the subscribers. Consumers have the right to know what they are getting into,” Cabarrios said.