NTC Public Hearing On Broadband Speed In Baguio

As agreed during the public hearing held in Quezon City last January 11, 2011 where the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) based its decision to scrap the broadband cap proposed by the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to allow them to limit the Internet usage of their subscribers, the regulatory body is set to conduct a regional public consultation on the proposed circular on “Minimum Speed of Broadband Connection” on March 18, 2011 in Baguio City. The public consultation will be held at the Quezon Hall of Teacher’s Camp and will run from 2:00 p.m. onwards.

NTC promised to hold various public hearings in different regions of the country before it finalizes the draft of a memorandum order which seeks to improve broadband speed. The agency said that stakeholders’ and consumers’ discussion points during the next public hearing will be valuable inputs into the crafting of the final draft of the memorandum order.

The latest statistics on the number of broadband users in the country stood at 3.6 million and with the projected vigorous growth rate, the memorandum order is expected to have far-reaching effects for broadband users in the country. The outcome of the public hearings will be particularly important to the i-café industry so the participation of i-café owners are encouraged so that the authorities would hear the real conditions of the internet service in the different parts of the country.