In a bid to improve internet speeds in the Philippines, Makati City representative Luis Campos Jr. has renewed his call to penalize telecommunications companies with fines of up to P1 million per day if they fail to meet mandatory internet speed requirements. This initiative is part of House Bill 10215, which aims to amend the Public Telecommunications Policy Law.
Campos emphasized the need for swift legislative action to address the country’s lagging internet speeds. “The Philippines still has one of the slowest average mobile internet speeds in Southeast Asia, and we want to fix this through an act of Congress,” he stated. The proposed legislation would impose fines of up to P365 million annually on non-compliant firms until they fully comply with the set internet speed targets.
The bill also seeks to reclassify internet connection from a value-added service (VAS) to a “basic service.” This change would place internet services under the regulatory authority of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which currently does not have jurisdiction over VAS.
“It is the State’s duty to protect the interest of consumers, including internet users, promote their general welfare, and to establish standards of conduct for business and industry,” Campos added, highlighting the broader consumer protection goals of the proposed measure.