#telecom regulation

The Supreme Court (SC) has officially denied the National Telecommunications Commission's (NTC) petition to lower SMS message rates to PHP 0.80 and refund subscribers. Unfortunately this did not happen, so the NTC released another mandate in 2012 ordering the major telecom players to limit their SMS fees to a maximum of PHP 0.80 per text. The NTC has claimed that the telecoms have not cooperated with the SMS rate reductions as they should have over the years, which means they are obligated to refund the PHP 0.20/text amounts over the years - totalling to a hefty PHP 17+ billion (based on internal calculations) to all subscribers. Internet and telecommunications subscribers in the Philippines may soon receive automatic refunds for prolonged service outages, following the passage of House Bill No. 178, also known as the Automatic Refund for Internet and Telecommunications Services Outages and Disruptions Act, by the House of Representatives on December 22. The proposed measure seeks to require internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunications companies to automatically refund or credit customers when they experience extended service disruptions without the need for filing complaints. Read more in our articles including "SC reaffirms ruling, blocking NTC lowering of SMS fee to PHP 0.80" and "Here’s How Automatic Refunds for Internet Outages Will Work Under the Proposed Law".