A first-term legislator on Saturday called on his colleagues to support a bill requiring all Internet service providers (ISPs) to adopt a roll-over data scheme, allowing prepaid and postpaid subscribers to carry over unused data to the next billing cycle until fully consumed.
Camarines Sur Rep. Migz Villafuerte, chair of the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), said that once enacted, ISPs will no longer be allowed to forfeit subscribers’ unused data allocations.
The proposed “Roll-Over Internet Act,” which consolidates three House bills with the same goal, was unanimously approved, subject to style, during the ICT panel’s organizational meeting last week. “Once this bill becomes law, subscribers will be able to use their remaining data even after their packages expire in one or several days, or in a month, depending on their plans,” Villafuerte said.
He said the measure will end the “unfair, anti-consumer” practice of telcos forcing subscribers to forfeit unused data when plans expire after a day, three days, a week, 15 days, or one month. HB 87, authored by Cavite Reps. Ramon Revilla III and Lani Mercado-Revilla and Agimat Rep. Bryan Revilla, was consolidated with HB 650 by Navotas City Rep. Tobias Tiangco and HB 708 by former Negros Occidental Rep. Francisco Benitez.
Under the consolidated bill, ISPs that fail to comply will face a cash fine of P50,000 per violation per subscriber. Repeat violators may also face license revocation, franchise cancellation, and mandatory waiving of pre-termination fees for affected subscribers.
