A BILL seeking to require telecommunication companies to automatically refund customers who experience intermittent or continuous service disruptions for 24 hours or more in a month has been filed at the House of Representatives.
House Bill No. 8480, which is principally authored by Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, seeks to ensure that subscribers will only pay for the service they get and prompt telcos to provide fast, reliable and uninterrupted internet connection.
The measure was co-authored by Benguet Rep. Eric Yap; Reps. Jocelyn Tulfo and Edvic Yap of ACT-CIS party-list and Quezon City Rep. Ralph Tulfo.
“While the telecommunications industry has continued to flourish in the country, internet connection and reliability of service remains a persistent problem, along with exorbitant costs paid by consumers for internet service,” the bill said.
In HB 8480’s explanatory note, the authors pointed out that the Philippines has among the most expensive fixed broadband services in Asia, resulting in its low ranking in the 2022 Digital Quality of Life Index (DQLI) independently conducted by the cybersecurity firm Surfshark.
The Philippines ranked 98th in the 2022 DQLI in terms of internet affordability, down by 26 notches from its similarly low ranking of 72nd in 2021.
HB 8480 mandates public telecommunications entities (PTEs), including internet service providers (ISPs), to institute a mechanism that would automatically provide customers refund credits or downward adjustments in their bills on a pro-rated basis whenever service outages or disruptions occur for an aggregate period of 24 hours or more within a month-long billing cycle.
“ISPs and public telecommunications entities concerned shall not require the customer to take any action in order to receive a refund credit or bill adjustment,” the bill said.
The measure, which aims to benefit both postpaid and prepaid subscribers, seeks to amend Republic Act 7925 or the Public Telecommunications Policy Act enacted 28 years ago.
Telecom firms and ISPs found by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to have violated the bill’s provisions will be fined between P200,000 and P2 million.
For violators whose gross annual income are P10 million and below, the penalty shall be equivalent to 1 percent to 2 percent of their gross annual income.
