bam aquino hearing

Sen. Bam to conduct Senate hearing on increasing telco players in PH

The government should keep the market open to more telecommunications companies to give the public a better choice for quality and affordable internet connection, according to Sen. Bam Aquino.
 
“Kailangan natin ng dagdag-kumpetisyon sa ating bayan. Why limit the industry to 3 players? The more, the merrier the consumer,” said Sen. Bam, principal sponsor of the law providing free internet in public places.
 
“Iyong mga bansa gaya ng Singapore na pagkaliit-liit, tatlo hanggang apat ang kanilang telco, tayo dalawa lang,” added Sen. Bam.
 
As chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology, Sen. Bam will conduct a hearing tomorrow, November 20, to look into the possibility of adding more telco players to the mix.
 
“Habang marami ang player at open ang playing field, mas maraming pagpipilian, mas gaganda ang serbisyo, at mas magmumura ang presyo para sa ating mga kababayan. Bakit natin ito pipigilan?” said Sen. Bam.
 
The senator added that the hearing will also investigate other issues about the third player Mislatel, including concerns about national security and accusations of spying against one of its partner China Telecoms.
 
Sen. Bam has been investigating the slow and expensive internet connection in the country since the 16th Congress during his time as chairman of the Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship.
 
Aside from determining necessary legislation to boost internet speed, the hearings also compelled the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to come out with guidelines on minimum internet speeds and conducted speed testing in various areas of the Philippines to check compliance of telcos.
 
Sen. Bam also led the ‘Nakaw Load’ hearings in the Senate, allowing for irate customers to push for changes in the telcos’ policies on load deductions.

Sen. Bam pushes daily load notifications to resolve ‘nakaw load’ issue

Sen. Bam Aquino, chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology, instructed telecommunications companies to provide free daily notifications to subscribers regarding their load balance.

“Bigyan na ng resibo araw-araw ang mga subscriber at bigyan ng pagkakataong mag-reklamo kapag mayroong nakitang mali” said Sen. Bam, who spearheaded the committee hearing on the complaints of subscribers regarding disappearing load.

According to Sen. Bam, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has committed to issue a memorandum circular that aims to address the problem of disappearing load or “nakaw load”, which will include his suggestion of daily notifications or receipts to subscribers.

“Bantayan natin para matiyak na maglalabas talaga ang NTC ng memorandum circular upang maipatupad ang pagbibigay ng digital na resibo o notification ang mga subscribers,” said Sen. Bam, referring to the NTC’s commitment to release the memorandum by June or July.

The NTC said that it also plans to include a minimum two-step process for subscribing to value-added services (VAS).

For their part, the telecommunications companies committed to the implementation of a three- or four-step verification process so clients are well-informed of the services they subscribe to.

“Ang hinahanap natin ay aksiyon. Solusyunan na natin agad itong isyu ng nawawalang prepaid load,” insisted Sen. Bam, the only senator in the hearing.

 The hearing was called by Sen. Bam through Senate Resolution No. 595, directing the committee to determine the capacity and readiness of relevant government agencies and regulators to implement rules that will protect prepaid mobile subscribers.

Sen. Bam to telcos: Establish complete transparency on Nakaw-Load

Senator Bam Aquino emphasized that transparency on the part of telecommunications companies is the first step to solving consumer complaints about disappearance of prepaid mobile loads or “nakaw load”.
 
During the hearing of the Committee on Science and Technology on the issue, Sen. Bam said that the immediate solution is for telcos to issue notifications to their subscribers when load is credited or deducted to their account.
 
“There was a clear solution presented during the hearing. Sa bawat load na pumasok at ibinawas sa atin, dapat may matatanggap na tayong libreng notification,” said Sen. Bam, who led the hearing as chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology.
 
Sen. Bam said the notifications could help subscribers monitor their load spending and will allow them to immediately cancel services they do not wish to avail.
 
“Kapag may notification at nakita natin na hindi tama, may pagkakataon tayong magreklamo agad-agad at muling makuha ang load na ibinawas sa atin,” added Sen. Bam.
 
Sen. Bam hopes that telecommunications companies should comply with the proposed solution, saying it’s a simple way to solve the long-standing problem of disappearing prepaid load.
 
“It’s a good solution at hindi rin iyan malaking gastos. Ang pinakamahalaga, alam natin kung saan napupunta ang ating pera,” Sen. Bam said.
 
Sen. Bam also urged telecommunication companies to conduct a complete audit of all their value-added subscriptions (VAS), to protect consumers against unwarranted deductions from their prepaid load.
 
One telco already admitted that they are looking to suspend some 3rd party providers of value-added services (VAS).
 
In the hearing, a resource person testified that clicking “X” on a pop-up resulted in an opt-in to an unwanted VAS.
 
“Mahalagang makasuhan ang VAS providers na nanloloko sa ating mga kababayan sa kanilang mapanlinlang na proseso sa pagpaparehistro,” added Sen. Bam.
 
The senator also welcomed one telco’s move for a system refresh that will opt-out all of their subscribers to all VAS subscriptions and, thereafter, implement a stricter procedure when availing of these extra services. Another telco promised to consider this move.
 
The lawmaker also called on concerned government agencies, such as the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), to get their acts together in addressing consumer complaints.
 
“Madalas nalilito ang ating mga kababayan kung saan napupunta ang kanilang load kaya kailangan nang ipatupad ang load notifications. Mahalaga rin na ibalik sa subscriber within 24 hours ang load deduction na ireklamo nila,” said Sen. Bam.
 
The hearing was called on Sen. Bam through Senate Resolution No. 595, directing the committee to determine the capacity and readiness of relevant government agencies and regulators to implement rules that will protect prepaid mobile subscribers.
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