Section 7Sec./Art. 7

National Telecommunications Commission. - The NTC, an attached agency of the DICT, shall be the principal regulatory and adjudication body over the data transmission sector and shall take necessary measures to implement the policies and objectives of this Act, and as set forth by the DICT. In addition to its existing functions, the NTC shall be responsible to the following:

(a) Ensure that the date transmission sector remains open and accessible to all qualified participants;

(b) Formulate eligibility criteria for the registration of DTIPs within one (1) month from the effectivity of the IRR of this Act;

(c) Formulate and implement an efficient and speedy process in the qualification and registration of DTIPs in line with relevant laws, policies, rules and regulations, and government issuances;

(d) Issue rules and regulations, in consultation with the DICT, on the development, use, and maintenance of satellite-based technology;

(e) In consultation with the PCC, issue rules and regulations that promote fair and open competition in accordance with the principles and policies under Republic Act No. 10667 or the "Philippine Competition Act" and its IRR, including guidelines and rules on DTIPs and/or access providers with significant market power in all segments of the data transmission network, allowing a wide variety of physical networks and applications to interact seamlessly;

(f) Mandate transparency in pricing and the regular publication of updated pricing information to ensure fair trading within ad between each data transmission segment to allow clear, comparative information on market prices and services;

(g) Mandate access providers to provide access to digital infrastructure and services contained in the access list;

(h) Subject to relevant issuances of the DICT, publish and update at least once a year the list of registered DTIPs on its official website and a publicly accessible data site or location and provide this information to the DICT for concurrent publication;

(i) Implement the SMPF developed by the DICT;

(j) Periodically review spectrum allocation, use, and assignment every four (4) years, pursuant to the policies and guiding principles contained in the SMPF, and undertake measures such as, but not limited to, spectrum recall and restacking to ensure the most efficient and optimal use of spectrum in accordance with the SMPF;

(k) In coordination with the PCC, ensure that spectrum assignment and spectrum recall do not result in the concentration of spectrum resources which may harm competition;

(l) Determine and set performance standards for DTIPs within six (6) months from the effectivity of the IRR of this Act, and periodically update such standards as necessary;

(m) Monitor, evaluate, and investigate the compliance of DTIPs with the performance standards;

(n) Charge reasonable fee to defray its administrative costs on services rendered;

(o) Collect the necessary Supervision and Regulation Fee (SRF), Spectrum User Fee (SUF), and other relevant fees as provided by law;

(p) Impose the applicable administrative penalties for violations of this Act; and

(q) Perform such other functions as may be necessary to achieve the objectives of this Act.