CONGRESSMEN scored telco carrier Smart Communications and threatened not to renew its franchise if it could not improve its services to the public.
The lawmakers’ displeasure over the service of the telecommunication giant was expressed during the recent hearing conducted by the House Committee on Legislative Franchises chaired by Rep. Franz E. Alvarez.
The proposal to extend Smart’s franchise was contained in House Bill 2930, authored by Rep. Reynaldo Umali. The original franchise granted by Republic Act 7294.
Kabayan Party-list Rep. Harry L. Roque described Smart’s services as slow and urban-centric, adding that it was even slower inside the House of Representatives.
Cebu Rep. Gerald Anthony V. Gullas Jr. and Manila Rep. Edward Maceda shared the overall impression that Smart’s internet connection was very poor.
“Smart service is one of the slowest, but one of the most expensive, in the world,” said Roque.
“Why should we not hold the renewal of your franchise until you have improved your services first? You’ve come to Congress for a privilege while acknowledging you have not been able to give the kind of service the public deserves?” Roque asked.
Roque said the tremendous profits of Smart should be used to improve its services to the people.
“These complaints referred to Smart’s slow internet, inadequate services, missed calls and dropped calls. What has happened since then and what has Smart done about these complaints?” Gullas said.
Maceda said he asked one of the witnesses in the Justice Committee’s Bilibid drug syndicates investigation, Jaime Patcho, if the signal inside Bilibid is strong, to which the inmate confirmed it is.
“So why is the signal strong inside the Bilibid where there shouldn’t even be a signal when the signal was very weak inside the House of Representatives which deals with very important business?” Maceda asked.
Smart representatives said they will present in the next hearing a detailed report on the ongoing network improvement and modernization program the company is undertaking to give Congress a better perspective of its plans to improve services in the near future.