Better internet services sought

Calls for higher internet speed and better regulation of telecommunication services snowballed on Wednesday as a lawmaker proposes an online consultation over a bill on mobile and internet usage.

Taguig City Representative Freddie Tinga said they are inviting concerned groups to participate in drafting the legislation that aims to democratize internet.

“This will be the first time that we are doing this (online consultation). But we want to prevent an online riot. I think by having one or two groups with same advocacy will be enough to represent that sector,” he told reporters.

“It makes my life maybe a little easier but harder at the same time because there will be more voices who will be studying each and every line of the legislation,” Tinga, who is also chairman of the Committee on Information and Communications Technology said.

Militant groups and consumer advocates earlier hit major telecommunication companies for supporting a proposal of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to limit internet speed.

Public pressure however pushed the NTC to shelve the plan as Kabataan Party-list Representative Raymond Palatino detailed the issues raised by internet users during a public consultation held over the weekend.

Among the problems raised by so-called netizens include overbilling, exorbitant fees, slow, unreliable and sub-par broadband internet connections, limited network coverage, and questionable practices like data-capping and long contract periods.

Palatino, for his part, added to the list of internet problems the lack of clear-cut legal or administrative definition of broadband in terms of standard download and upload speeds in its various forms.

The two-term congressman also said that there is no existing mechanism to check if telecommunication firms and internet service providers are complying with their advertised speeds and services.

By Virgil Lopez