Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada wants internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunications companies to refund their customers for service interruptions lasting at least 24 hours accumulated in a month.
Refund for Internet and Telecommunications Service Outages and Disruptions Act
This is the main idea of Estrada’s proposed Senate Bill No. 2074, which he filed on April 17. If the service failures totaled 24 hours in a month, he suggested that a refund should be in order.
Estrada said that we pay for service. When you don’t pay your bill by the payment due date they set, they cut the line as fast as four o’clock. If they can’t even match the service we pay for, it should be deducted from our bills.
Estrada also said why should we pay for a service that we have not benefited from. And at a time when our every action is almost dependent on gadgets and digital devices, it is important to have a fast, accessible, and reliable connection.
The Refund for Internet and Telecommunications Service Outages and Disruptions Act, or SBN 2074, is a proposed law that would make public telecommunications entities (PTEs) and internet service providers (ISPs) set up a system that would allow them to automatically refund or modify the bills of their postpaid and prepaid subscribers whenever there are service disruptions.
It aims to add an amendment requiring refund credit to a customer who experienced service outages and interruptions for a total of 24 hours or more in a month to Section 20 of Republic Act 7925, also known as the Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines
In addition, customers who pay for a service in advance will also be given a refund credit.
He suggested that in order to enable activity continuity and interconnection across various users, connection services must be regular, reliable, stable, uninterrupted, and fast.
The senator also added that with the implementation of this policy, customers will be fairly charged for the services provided by telcos and ISPs. It is crucial that they obtain services for every cent they spend, and that they are not paid for services they were unable to use.
