REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Resolution No. 799

Introduced by Kabataan Party-List Representative Raymond V. Palatino

1 A RESOLUTION
2 URGING THE NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TO SCRAP ITS
3 PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF A CEILING ON INTERNET SPEED AND ON THE
4 AMOUNT OF DATA BROADBAND USERS CAN DOWNLOAD PER DAY

5 WHEREAS , the Philippines, according to various estimates, has as many as thirty million
6 internet users, 3.6 million of which are connected via broadband services;
7 WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 7925, otherwise known as The Public Telecommunications
8 Policy Act of the Philippines grants the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) regulatory
9 powers to promote and protect the consumers of public telecommunications services;
10 WHEREAS, despite the exorbitant rates being charged by telecommunication companies
11 for broadband internet access, thousands of Filipino internet users have complained against the
12 substandard services delivered by such companies, such as slow, unreliable and below-par broadband
13 internet connections, limited network coverage, and questionable practices like data-capping,
14 “burstible speeds”, long contract periods, pre-termination fees, among others;
15 WHEREAS , in response to the growing number of complaints from consumers on slow
16 broadband speeds, the NTC has set a series of public hearings on a proposed memorandum order
17 setting a minimum broadband connection speed;
18 WHEREAS, the unnumbered memorandum order states that telecommunication companies
19 will be required to specify the minimum speed that subscribers can expect and supposedly ensure
20 that broadband services must be within or above the minimum speed eighty percent of the time;
21 WHEREAS , the NTC further plans to allow telecommunications companies and internet
22 service providers to put a cap on the amount of data that Internet users can download everyday or set
23 the maximum volume of data transferred per subscriber per day on the basis that some broadband

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24 users connect to the internet “for (an) unreasonably long period of time depriving other users from
25 connecting to the internet”;
26 WHEREAS, the basis upon which the bandwidth cap will be imposed is flawed as
27 broadband users stay on the internet for an “unreasonably long period of time” primarily because the
28 speed and reliability of the connection are below par do not truly manifest the marketed or advertised
29 claims of speed;
30 WHEREAS, the proposed broadband cap is an anti-consumer measure since limiting the
31 amount of data transferred per day might be abused by the unregulated telecommunications
32 companies, who have a long record of abuse and substandard services;
33 WHEREAS, rather than protect Filipino internet users, the broadband cap would make
34 broadband service more inconvenient and possibly even more expensive;
35 WHEREAS, in an interview with the media, NTC Director Edgardo Cabarios admitted that
36 the data cap was an idea that the telecommunications companies had put forward;
37 WHEREAS , the NTC despite its regulatory duties and responsibilities and despite the
38 myriad of complaints from frustrated customers of telecommunication companies offering
39 broadband internet services, has failed to implement standards that would compel telecommunication
40 companies to operate within a standard commensurate to the privilege granted to them by the People;
41 WHEREAS, instead of these anti-consumer measures, the NTC should undertake steps in
42 regulating telecommunications companies, such as defining “broadband internet” first to telcos and
43 internet service providers (ISPs) that provide such services, enforce proper billing and end unfair and
44 anti-consumer practices, provide the public a standard protocol and tool to check compliance by
45 telcos and ISPs, check the current infrastructure and development plans of telcos and and review the
46 Public Telecommunications Law and the NTC Law;

47 NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED , that the

48 House of Representatives urge the National Telecommunications Commission to scrap its proposed
49 imposition of a cap or ceiling on internet speed and the amount of data broadband users can
50 download from the Internet in order to provide adequate protection for Filipino internet users in
51 accordance with their rights as citizens and consumers.

Adopted,

HON. RAYMOND V. PALATINO

Representative, Kabataan Party-list