The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has proposed service quality benchmarks for data transmission industry participants (DTIPs) under the Konektadong Pinoy Act to ensure all new telco entrants meet national connectivity standards.
The draft memorandum circular, titled “Performance Standards for Data Transmission Industry Participants (DTIPs) Pursuant to Republic Act No. 12234,” aims to guarantee quality public service by establishing specific performance metrics across all network segments.
These segments include the International Gateway Facility, Core/Backbone, Middle Mile and Last Mile.
For Last Mile downstream connectivity, the NTC proposes a minimum average download and upload speed of 50 Mbps, with latency under 30ms, packet loss below 1 percent and jitter under 20ms. Both service availability and uptime should exceed 99 percent.
The International Gateway Facility, Core/Backbone and Middle Mile segments should meet stricter thresholds including a minimum uptime of 99.9 percent, packet loss under 0.1 percent, latency below 10ms and aggregated optical signal loss of less than 0.25 dB per km. Darwin G. Amojelar
The regulator said DTIPs should adhere to the performance standards prescribed under the circular and ensure full compliance within six months of the standards’ publication on the official NTC website.
Participants are also required to notify the agency of their Ready-for-Service (RFS) date for each specific area or segment.
Beyond basic compliance, DTIPs shjould submit a report to the NTC at least 14 days prior to any scheduled downtime or maintenance that could impact customer operations. In the event of unplanned disruptions—such as fiber cuts, severe weather, or marine activity—DTIPs should report the incident within 24 hours if the outage is likely to cause service degradation or breach performance standards.
The NTC said it would exercise full oversight and enforcement to ensure adherence to the prescribed standards, which includes quarterly monitoring of DTIP performance with results published on its official website.
To verify data accuracy, the agency will conduct periodic audits, on-site inspections, and independent performance tests, occasionally engaging third-party monitoring firms as needed.
Beyond routine audits, the NTC may issue directives requiring DTIPs to report specific metrics for certain regions during emergencies or for disaster resilience. If a participant fails to meet these standards, the NTC will provide a reasonable window for rectification.
Continued non-compliance following due process will result in administrative penalties, the NTC said.
