As the Open Access in Data Transmission Act or “Konektadong Pinoy” bill awaits the signature of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. into law, an organization of the country’s biggest telcos issued a statement on Saturday, June 21, condemning the proposed legislation as unfair and severely flawed.
The Philippine Communications and Telecommunications Operators (PCTO) stated that while it supports the current administration’s push for a faster and more affordable Internet access, the proposed law in “its current form risks creating more problems than it solves.”
“It may weaken investment, introduce unfair rules, and compromise the long-term security and sustainability of our digital infrastructure,” the group said.
In particular, the telcos said the proposed law “creates an uneven playing field” where “current infrastructure builders, will be disincentivized” by removing the congressional franchise required for telecom service providers.
“It would create a new category of providers exempt from obligations that existing telecommunications companies must meet — franchises, infrastructure, and compliance standards — without offering commensurate accountability. This is preferential treatment that any investor would see as a red flag,” it said.
The PCTO acknowledged that the Philippines is the only country in the world that requires a legislative franchise to operate as a telecom, but asserted it was a rule which they had to follow.
“We know this more than anyone. Which is why this much is also true — no one is lobbying for more congressional franchises. Certainly not us.
“This is not a game we invented; it is the legal regime with which we simply complied. If there is to be any change in this reality – if, let us say, franchise requirements are to be removed — what all sides are now calling for is simple: the same rules for all,” it said.
The telcos said that once the law is passed, many Internet service providers will merely rely on infrastructure built by more established companies.
“That said, we must be honest about what we see. These small players are often focused on sales, not on building or maintaining infrastructure, nor providing long-term support. In many provinces they plug into the networks built by franchised telcos,” it said.
“But as they sell data access without sharing in the burden for infrastructure investments, many communities are left settling for the packages of ruinous competition and a fragmented, unstable market.”
The organization also criticized the Konektadong Pinoy bill for imposing preference for a certain form of technology. “For starters, where it promises technology neutrality, it creates a clear bias for satellite-based services — the technology for which is so specialized and prohibitively expensive, that bias is practically a bias for foreign players. Never mind that satellite offers no guaranteed mechanism for lowering costs for consumers.
“Unlike current franchise holders, these new, largely foreign, operators will not be required to build infrastructure, not be required to service or in fact subsidize underserved rural areas, nor support government in times of national emergency,” it added.
The bill, it warned, will create a unique Philippine scenario where foreign satellite providers are allowed to offer services directly to communities without going through any locally regulated entity.
“Nowhere else in the world is such a model implemented without safeguards,” the organization said.
In conclusion, the PCTO said the “bill risks disincentivizing long-term investment, undermining national security, and destabilizing our telecom ecosystem in exchange for short-sighted appearances of progress.”
