Telcos, ISPs join forces vs network infrastructure theft

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s leading telcos and internet service providers (ISPs) have banded together to form an industry-wide group that seeks to protect network infrastructure from criminal activities, especially theft.

PLDT yesterday said it has organized the National Telecommunications Security Council (NTSC) composed of corporate security professionals from the telco industry.

The NTSC is made up of experts from telcos and ISPs including Globe Telecom Inc., Dito Telecommunity Corp., Converge ICT Solutions Inc. and Sky Cable Corp.

PLDT head of asset protection and security risk governance (APSRG) Oliver Carlos Odulio said the NTSC would serve as an avenue for intelligence sharing among telco players.

Using data from APSRG, Odulio said incidents involving theft of network equipment jumped by more than half from January to July against a year ago. During the period, efforts by APSRG led to a five-fold spike in apprehensions.

“(We) established the NTSC for the purpose of sharing intelligence information and coordination of activities against the common threat posed by thieves and other perpetrators,” Odulio said.

“This has also allowed us to share best practices on how to keep our fiber, cell sites and other network infrastructure physically safe, and is part of our long-standing commitment to ensure continued connectivity and unhampered delivery of our fiber-to-the-home, LTE and 5G services to our customers.”

With PLDT at the helm, NTSC will work with national agencies and local governments in securing telco infrastructure and going after illegal activities.

Odulio said telco providers should protect their respective facilities to spare customers from any interruption in their internet connection. The NTSC, for its part, will prioritize measures to address the loss of network equipment that leads to connectivity disruption.

SkyCable earlier joined forces with telco giants and tower operators to unify their programs against cable cutting and theft. In a joint manifesto, they committed to work together against the act of slashing cable lines, especially as it gains notoriety in Metro Manila.

They also told authorities to enforce Republic Act (RA) 10515 or the Anti-Cable Television and Cable Internet Tapping Act of 2013, particularly its provisions against cable cutting.

Under RA 10515, individuals proven guilty of the crime face a jail term of up to five years or fined by as much as P100,000, or both, at the discretion of the court.