Globe reports meeting NTC service standards in Metro Manila tests

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Globe NTC standards Metro Manila

Highlights

Globe Telecom reports a 99.41% SMS success rate and 0.74% dropped-call ratio, making it the only major operator meeting NTC standards in the latest Metro Manila tests.
NTC issues show-cause orders against Globe, Smart, and DITO, including a P100,000 daily penalty beginning Sept. 25, citing unresolved mobile broadband deficiencies in Metro Manila.
Globe’s network performance score rises to 82.6 in September from 77.2 in January, with average download speed increasing 41% to 51.53 Mbps, and disconnection complaints down 64% year-to-date.

Quality test results and regulatory context

As reported by BusinessWorld, citing Globe Telecom, Inc., the company says the National Telecommunications Commission's latest quality-of-service tests show an average SMS success rate of 99.41%, above the regulator's prescribed standard of more than 99%. Globe says this makes it the only operator among the country's three major mobile providers to meet the benchmark in the latest round of testing.

The company also reports an average dropped-call ratio of 0.74%, within the NTC threshold of below 2%, along with a peak mobile broadband download speed of 381 megabits per second. Citing the regulator's results, Globe says 113 of 142 mobile broadband test campaigns across the three operators record download speeds above 50 Mbps, while the NTC describes mobile broadband performance in most tested areas as very satisfactory.

Globe General Counsel Vicente Froilan M. Castelo says the company welcomes the NTC's continued monitoring because it provides a measure of service quality and helps identify where further improvements are needed. The latest tests follow earlier NTC action against Globe, Smart Communications, Inc., and DITO Telecommunity Corp. over alleged deficiencies in mobile internet services in Metro Manila.

In September, the regulator says its validation tests show previously identified mobile broadband deficiencies have not substantially improved. The NTC then issues show-cause orders against the three operators involving a reported P100,000 daily penalty starting Sept. 25, and Globe says in a Sept. 29 stock exchange disclosure that it receives the Sept. 24 order and intends to respond within the prescribed period.

Network performance trends and sector implications

Separate company-cited data from the Department of Information and Communications Technology's Oplan Bantay Signal monitoring show Globe's overall network performance score rising to 82.6 in September from 77.2 in January. According to the company, its average download speed also increases by 41% to 51.53 Mbps from 36.5 Mbps over the same period.

Globe also cites the DICT's Telco Report Card as showing it accounts for 44.76% of mobile subscribers but 6.1% of disconnection complaints in September. The company says those complaints decline by 64% from January.

Even so, the latest test results do not establish whether the deficiencies cited in the earlier regulatory action have been resolved. Globe says it is continuing network infrastructure improvements and site deployments, including efforts to expand coverage in underserved areas and pursue satellite direct-to-cell technology, as Philippine telecom operators face ongoing pressure to improve service quality and comply with regulatory standards.

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