Telcos agree on performance metrics but want to keep results private

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MANILA – The Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators (PCTO) and the Philippine Association of Private Telecommunications Companies (PAPTELCO) may have already agreed with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to measure their individual ISP metrics but would not allow the release of results to the public.

While not disclosing the results of individual performance metrics, the telcos agreed to release the average speed of the entire ISP industry in the Philippines.

Aside from keeping their individual metrics private, the telcos also opposed measuring their metrics in terms of service reliability. They would, however, allow the measurement of their ping of latency in respective networks.

Improving PH Internet

Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship chair Bam Aquino was the one who raised the issue on the need to solve the poor Internet services in the Philippines.

It can be noted that in Ookla’s latest report, the Internet in the Philippines had been regarded as slow and expensive. Among 22 Asian countries, the country ranked second to the last in terms of Internet speed.

The NTC, for its part, conducted Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings with telcos, researchers, netizens, Aquino and representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to come up with ways to help improve the local Internet services.

Since the NTC needed to immediately act upon the matter, they then first agreed to measure ISP performance metrics and evaluate local ISPs’ qualities of service.

Once the commission acquired equipments needed to conduct the measurements, it will then carry out randomized blind measurement points at multiple ISP sites.

But with certain disagreements among parties raised, the discussions may take a long while before the NTC’s drafting of a Memorandum Circular (MC).