The House of Representatives on Wednesday, Dec. 3, approved on third and final reading a measure requiring telecom providers to roll over unused prepaid or postpaid internet data or convert them into rebates.
House Bill (HB) 87, or the Rollover Internet Data Bill, was passed with a unanimous vote of 222 lawmakers.
The proposed measure seeks to stop what its authors described as a “fundamentally unfair” practice of forfeiting paid but unused data allocations when promos expire.
Authored by Cavite representatives Ramon “Jolo” Revilla III and Lani Mercado-Revilla, and Agimat Partylist representative Bryan Revilla, the bill requires Internet service providers (ISPs) to accumulate all unused data until the end of the calendar year, as long as subscribers renew their promo or plan upon expiry.
Unused data at the end of the year may be converted into rebates that can be used to pay for subscriptions the following year.
“For postpaid users, this often means forfeiting paid but unused megabytes or gigabytes. For prepaid subscribers, it means re-purchasing similar data promos just to maintain connection – often without maximizing their previous allocations,” the authors said in the bill’s explanatory note, citing a need to protect consumers and ensure “full value for Internet services.”
The lawmakers added that rolling over data would “strengthen digital inclusion” for students, remote workers, small business owners, and families reliant on online platforms.
The bill also sets penalties for non-renewal. Users who fail to renew their subscription within five days of the promo’s expiry will incur a 20% reduction in unused data. Failure to renew beyond the five-day grace period will result in forfeiture of the remaining allocation.
HB 87 will be transmitted to the Senate, where a counterpart measure must be passed before it can be signed into law.
