Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday called on the telecommunications companies over their poor internet connection.
“It’s been over three months since the President’s ultimatum to the telecommunications companies has lapsed in improving their services, yet consumers continue to suffer from unreliable internet connectivity in the country,” said Gatchalian.
He also mentioned the poor customer service afforded by telcos to subscribers who lodge complaints over data concerns and deficient broadband services, among many others.
“To say that the public is not getting their money’s worth is an understatement,” he said.
He said the lackadaisical attitude in the face of the subscribers’ problems is appalling especially at this time when all are aware of the necessity of internet services in every household and commercial establishment in the country.
The Senate Economic Affairs Committee Vice Chairman also said that in the case of Valenzuela City, residents had to seek the intervention of the local chief executive out of frustration just to have their internet connection fixed.
Despite reports that internet speed has seen improvements with the Philippines’ global ranking in mobile internet speed as of January 2021, moving up to the 86th spot from being in the 111th spot in the same period of 2020, Gatchalian said this significant improvement does not seem to reflect the marked changes in actual services to customers.
Data from Ookla Speedtest Global Index, on the other hand, showed that the country’s fixed internet or fixed broadband global ranking remained at 100th.
It has come to the attention of Gatchalian that internet service providers remain slow in addressing customer complaints as it would often take weeks and, in worse cases, even months before they could receive any feedback or appropriate services from the technical crew.
The social media pages of PLDT and Globe Telecoms have been flooded with complaints since last year over the slow response from network service personnel for the much-needed technical repairs.