NTC crackdown on sellers of signal boosters sought

MANILA, Philippines — The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) should go after sellers of illegal cellular mobile repeaters and signal boosters in the country.

Advocacy group CitizenWatch issued this call, stressing that such technical devices – although believed to help improve network signals over a certain area – cause network jamming and distort mobile signals in the vicinity.

Christopher Belmonte, a convenor of the organization, said cellular mobile repeaters and signal boosters create telecommunications problems that would be detrimental during important events as automated elections or to the delivery of critical services during disasters because these gadgets could block cell signals.

“These so-called boosters claim to enhance weak mobile signals in some areas, yet end up doing greater harm to more people,” Belmonte, a former Quezon City representative, said in a statement Tuesday.

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“As a result, there are slow or failed connections, dropped calls, voice quality issues, and even loss of cell phone signals,” he added.

CitizenWatch also noted that cellular mobile repeaters and signal boosters can be easily bought online or from e-commerce platforms.

Due to this, Belmonte urged telcos, e-commerce, and social media platforms to help stop the proliferation of the tools.

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“A few persons may benefit, but in the end, it is all the other users in the vicinity of these illegal repeaters that suffer because these devices negatively affect the quality of the telecommunication services in the area,” Belmonte pointed out.

“Among other things, the use of these boosters or jammers can be considered stealing as non-registered individuals use a spectrum that they have not paid for. It’s a disservice to all the other consumers and even to telcos who are investing heavily to expand and improve network coverage,” he likewise said.

In 2013, the NTC issued an order that prohibited the the sale, purchase, importation, possession, or use of cellular mobile repeaters and portable cell sites.

It said only licensed Cellular Mobile Telephone Service operators, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, and other government agencies involved in national security or safety, as authorized by the NTC, are allowed to purchase, import, possess, and use such equipment.