Smart Communications recorded a 5.26 percent call-drop rate in government tests at Metro Manila bus terminals ahead of Undas, breaching the National Telecommunications Commission’s prescribed ceiling of less than 2 percent even as the regulator found generally strong mobile network performance.
The NTC’s October 29 monitoring showed DITO Telecommunity and Globe Telecom recording zero average call drops, while all three major operators posted a 100-percent average success rate for text messages.
The disparity emerged despite robust broadband results across 12 terminals serving passengers leaving Metro Manila for the holiday.
Of 128 completed test campaigns, 114, or about 89 percent, recorded download speeds of at least 50 megabits per second, underscoring the networks’ generally strong data performance.
DITO recorded the highest download speed at 851 Mbps at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange. Smart peaked at 456 Mbps at the same terminal, while Globe reached 330 Mbps at Raymond Transportation’s terminal in Quezon City.
The results highlight a more specific reliability gap in voice services, where even strong data speeds do not necessarily translate into uninterrupted calls. For holiday travelers, dropped calls can complicate coordination with relatives, pickups and other travel arrangements.
The NTC did not identify the terminals where Smart’s dropped calls were recorded or disclose the number of voice calls included in the tests.
“Reliable mobile connectivity is essential in transport terminals,” NTC Deputy Commissioner Andy Castelar said, citing the heavy volume of holiday travel.
The regulator urged telecommunications companies to address the findings and improve service reliability. It said nationwide monitoring and validation would continue, with regulatory action pursued when warranted.
The results put pressure on voice-service reliability of Smart even as its network posted competitive broadband speeds during one of the year’s busiest travel periods.
