Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

TWENTIETH CONGRESS.

First Regular Session
House Bill No.

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE JURDIN JESUS M. ROMUALDO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill is a refiled measure originally filed during the 18th Congress by then
Representative Xavier Jesus D. Romualdo of the Lone District of Camiguin, and refiled in
the 19th Congress. On both occasions, the bill was transmitted to the Senate for its
appropriate action. The current version builds on these earlier efforts and reflects
updates based on the evolving digital landscape and terminology.

The proposed measure aims to foster a competitive, inclusive, and innovation-driven
data transmission industry, supported by an empowered and independent regulatory
body. It recognizes the transformative role of internet connectivity in education,
healthcare, governance, business, and nation-building

In 1995, the Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines (Republic Act No.
7925) was enacted, when less than 1% of Filipinos had access to the Internet. As of
2022, the number of internet users in the Philippines had surged to over 76 million—
equivalent to nearly 68% of the total population—and mobile connectivity alone reached
over 156 million connections, reflecting widespread adoption

In the 2025 Datareportal’, a total of 142 million cellular mobile connections were active
with 97.5 million individuals using internet in the country with online penetration at 83.8
percent.

According this report, the Philippine is home to 90.8 million social media users as of
January 2025, equating to 78.0 percent of the total population of 116 million as of
January 2025, with 48.8 percent coming from urban centers and the 51.2 percent in the
rural areas

The number of mobile connections in the Philippines increased by 17 million between
2024 — 2025. Mobile users were reported to be 122% of the population or 141.52 million
users. While mobile internet download speed via cellular data networks is at 35.56 Mbps
and median internet download speed is at 93.68 Mbps.

* www.https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2025- philippines


Among the social media platforms, Facebook or Meta’s ads reach 78 percent of the
population or 90.48 million while Instagram had 22.9 million users. On the other hand,
TikTok had 62.3 million users while YouTube was reported to have a decrease of 400
thousand users. Messenger users reached 61.8 million early 2025.

These figures reflect how these social media platforms and digital tools have become
part of our daily life.

DICT leaders also said that “internet household access in the country has doubled from
38% in 2023 to 76.9 percent in 2024 and that increased internet connectivity resulted to
economic gains from access to essential online services, education and economic
opportunities. DICT emphasized its commitment to provide wider and reliable access to
internet connectivity especially on their Free Wi-Fi program primarily designed to bridge
the digital divide and promote inclusivity.

By enacting this proposed legislation, we aim to close the digital divide, uplift service
standards, protect public interest, and enhance our national competitiveness in an
increasingly interconnected global economy.

The Philippines has a long way to go in terms of internet speed, affordability, and overall
service quality. We have to catch up with our regional neighbors and achieve the global
benchmarks. We need to address the gap between access and quality as well as
integrate a regulatory framework that will be beneficial to the industry stakeholders and
provide the suitable services for the discerning public.

We need to modemize our telecommunications and internet regulatory framework to
reflect present realities and support sustainable growth. The proposed measure
introduces a forward-looking policy platform that

1. Reclassifies Internet Access Services — Internet access will no longer be
treated merely as a value-added service (VAS), but as a distinct and
essential public utility function, thus expanding the National
Telecommunications Commission's (NTC) regulatory authority and
enabling more meaningful oversight

2. Ensures Technology Neutrality — Regulation should be adaptable to all
forms of technology and should not favor any specific platform or
infrastructure, thereby encouraging innovation and future-proofing the law.

3. Mandates Universal Access — The bill makes internet access a universal
service objligation for telecommunications companies, much like basic
telephone service under the old law. The objective is to ensure that all
Filipinos—urban and rural—have equitable and affordable access to
reliable internet.

4. Promotes an Open Internet - The measure safeguards against blocking,
throttling, and paid prioritization by Internet Service Providers (ISPs), now
referred to as “data transmission industry participants” to cover alll players
in the ecosystem. Zero-rating will only be allowed if done without monetary
‘or equivalent compensation

5. Strengthens the NTC — The NTC will be empowered with updated
enforcement mechanisms, including administrative penalties aligned with
modern regulatory standards. The bill also authorizes the Commission to
set and enforce minimum service standards reflective of evolving
technology.


6. Expands Consumer Rights and Protections — By  institutionalizing
transparent complaints handling, prohibiting abusive practices, and
upholding consumers’ rights to high-quality and fairly priced services, the
bill empowers users to make informed choices.

7. Maximizes Spectrum Utilization — The NTC is mandated to ensure optimal
and inclusive use of radio spectrum for the benefit of all registered industry
participants, fostering competition and efficient service delivery.

in view of the foregoing, the immediate and favorable passage of this bill is earnestly
solight.

JURDI IS M. ROMUALDO


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

TWENTIETH CONG

ig

HOUSE BILL NO.

E!

First Regular S

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE JURDIN JESUS M. ROMUALDO

AN ACT
PROMOTING OPEN ACCESS IN DATA TRANSMISSION AND PROVIDING
ADDITIONAL POWERS TO THE NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS
SECTION 1. Short Title. —- This Act shall be known as the “Open Access in Data
Transmission Act™.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy of the State to narrow the digital divide

in the country by encouraging the development of data transmission infrastructure and removing
any barrier to competition in data transmission services. Moreover, the State shall implement
measures to require data transmission service providers to adhere to telecommunications
standards suitable to the needs and aspirations of the nation and ensure that internet users enjoy
the best quality of data transmission service. The State shall:

(a) Promote the construction and development of reliable, affordable, open and accessible
data networks that transmit information at speed and quality comparable to the best in the world;

(b) Create an entrepreneurial ecosystem where persons who wish to engage in the data
transmission industry can compete openly and freely in the spirit of fair competition and
permission-less innovation;

(c) Encourage investments in the digital infrastructure development in the country;

(d) Adopt and ensure open access in the regulation of the data transmission industry;

(e) Protect the public interest as it is affected by its ability to access data networks;

(f) Establish a strong and independent regulatory body and system to ensure and enhance
fair competition in the data transmission industry;

(g) Protect and promote the internet as an open platform enabling consumer choice,
freedom of expression, end user control, competition and the freedom to innovate without
permission, and thereby encouraging the development of advanced telecommunications
capabilities and the removal of barriers to infrastructure investment;

(h) Encourage infrastructure sharing and co-location in order to promote network


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investment, eliminate the uneconomic duplication of infrastructure facilities, and strengthen
competition; and

(i) Ensure efficient and transparent management of the radio frequency spectrum,
especially those utilized in the delivery of data transmission services.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act:

(a) Basic telephone service refers to the local exchange telephone service for residence

and business establishments provided via the circuit switched telephone network;
(b) Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (CMTS) refers to the wide area mobile radio

telephone system with its own switch, base stations and transmission facilities capable of

providing high capacity mobile telecommunications by utilizing radio frequencies;
(c) Content refers to, among others, texts, images, audios, videos, and animations that are

carried over the broadband/internet network;

(d) Core or Backbone Network refers to the main line, including international conne n
that ties networks, delivers routes to exchange information among various subnetworks, connects
regional distribution networks and, in some instances, provides connectivity to other peer
networks;

(e) Data transmission refers to the process of sending digital or digitized analog signal
over a communication medium to one or more computing networks, communication or
electronic devices. It enables the transfer and communication of devices in point-to-point, point-
to-multipoint and multipoint-to-multipoint environments, The term data transmission includes
the provision of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services but does not include the provision
of basic telephone services;

(f) Data transmission industry participant refers to any person, firm, partnership or

corporation, government or private, engaged in the provision of data transmission services to the

public. This includes public telecommunications entities (PTEs) that offer data transmission
services as defined under Republic Act (RA) No.7925, otherwise known as the “Public

Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines”;

(g) International gateway or landing refers to a segment of data transmission that

consists of any facility that provides an interface to send and receive data traffic between one

country’s domestic network facilities and those in another country

(h) Last mile refers to the segment of data transmission network that connects end users;

(i) Middle mile refers to the segment of data transmission network that links the last mile
network to the core or backbone network;

) Open access refers to the system of allowing the use of data transmission or
distribution systems and associated facilities subject to fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory
terms in a transparent market;

(k) Paid prioritization refers to the management of a data transmission network 10
directly or indirectly favor some traffic over other traffic, through the use of techniques such as
traffic shaping, prioritization, resource reservation, zero-rating, or other forms of preferential
traffic management, either in exchange for consideration (monetary or otherwise) from a third
party, or to benefit an affiliated entity;

()) Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service refers to the provision of voice


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communication using Internet Protocol (IP) technology; and
(m) Passive infrastructure collectively refers to telecommunication towers, poles, cable
entrances, ducts, utility corridors, and any other non-electronic infrastructure and facilities, either

existing or to be deployed in the future, that may be used to support data transmission.

CHAPTER IT
ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION OF THE DATA TRANSMISSION INDUSTRY

SEC. 4. Scope. ~ This Act applies to all persons who participate in the data transmission
industry. Any person or entity whose business deals substantially with the transmission of data,
including VoIP service provider, internet service providers (ISPs), and data center service
providers, shall be governed by the provisions of this Act. PTEs that are principally engaged in
the provision of basic telephone services, such as an international carrier, interexchange carrier,
local exchange operator, and mobile radio services provider, as defined in Republic Act No.
7925, and which also provide data transmission services, shall likewise be subject to the
provisions of this Act with respect to the data transmission services they provide and the
interconnection to their networks that they extend to data transmission industry participants.

SEC. 5. Registration and Certification. — All segments of the data transmission network
shall be competitive and open. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act or any other law, the
following registration and certification shall apply to data transmission:

(a) All data transmission industry participants shall be required to register with the
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). The NTC shall promulgate a speedy and
expeditious administrative process for registration and shall, in coordination with the
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), for policy and standard-
setting in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, and Philippine
Competition Commission (PCC) for the promotion of market competition, develop a set of
criteria for qualifying data transmission industry participants that will encourage the widest
possible participation of as many industry players as possible who will offer data transmission
services in all segments of the network and to end users in different parts of the country. The
qualification requirements for data transmission industry participants shall also take national
security concerns into consideration, particularly for facilities that interface directly with another
country’s domestic network;

(b) Those who will operate an international cable landing station shall secure a legislative
franchise. Those who will operate a nationwide backbone network shall secure a permit from the
NTC and submit its proposed route or rollout plan, as well as the manner of construction of the
backbone network, subject to the approval of the NTC.

Alll other industry participants shall not be required to secure a legislative franchise or a
certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) but must meet the criteria set by the
NTC and the DICT in registering as industry participants in order to construct, operate, lease or
‘own networks or facilities except if it owns and operates an international cable landing station:
Provided, That an owner or operator of a cable landing station, not considered a public utility,
shall no longer be required to secure a CPCN, All industry participants intending to be spectram

holders shall need to secure a permit from the NTC and shall be allocated such spectrum in


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accordance with the provisions under Section 7 of this Act;

(c) Data transmission industry participants shall likewise be required to comply with
national and global best practices and standards on cybersecurity and shall be subject to a
network audit by the Cybersecurity Bureau of the DICT. Data transmission industry participants

shall, after three (3) years of operation, be required to secure a cybersecurity certification from a

third-party organization based on the prevailing International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) standards on information security management; and

(d) Provisional authorities (PA), certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN),
or certificates of registration issued by the NTC prior to the effectivity of this Act shall be
deemed valid without necessity of revalidation or reissuance until the date of expiration as stated
in such certificates or other documents, and until the expiration of such certificates shall be
deemed compliant with the qualification requirements for data transmission industry participants

under this Section and other regulations issued pursuant hereto.

CHAPTER DIL
REGULATION OF THE DATA TRANSMISSION INDUSTRY

SEC. 6. Open Access Approach to Regulation of the Data Transmission Industry. -
The NTC shall ensure that the data tansmission sector remains open and accessible to all
qualified participants. Specifically, it shall;

(a) Implement an efficient and speedy administrative process in the authorization and
registration of data transmission sector participants;

(b) Adopt a technology-neutral framework that allows data transmission industry
participants to use any available technology to provide service;

(c) Promote fair and open competition in accordance with the principles and policies
under the Philippine Competition Act and its implementing rules in all segments of the data
transmission network, allowing a wide variety of physical networks and applications to interact
in an open architecture;

(d) Mandate transparency in pricing and the publication of pricing information to ensure
fair trading within and between each data transmission segment so as to allow clear, comparative
information on market prices and services;

(c) Mandate interconnection so that data transmission industry participants can connect to
each other at the various segments and interfaces, such that entities of any size may freely enter
and exit the market, and dominance by any single player or group of players is avoided;

(f) Promulgate policies that will encourage distributed local solutions rather than
centralized ones, encouraging services that are closer to the user;

(g) Publish the list of registered data transmission industry participants at least once a
year;

(h) Promulgate, together with the PCC, rules defining and regulating entities with
substantial market power;

(i) Publish a Spectrum Management Framework to be developed together with DICT and
PCC; and

(j) Collect the necessary Supervision and Regulation Fee (SRF) and Spectrum User Fee


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(SUF), and other relevant fees as provided by law.

SEC. 7. Spectrum Allocation, Recall, and Reallocation. — The NTC shall maximize the
allocation and assignment of finite radio spectrum resources used in the transmission of data by
ensuring that the spectrum is made available for the use of all registered data transmission
industry participants. To this end:

(a) The procedure for radio spectrum assignment, joint use and recall shall be made
transparent to the public. All applications, including letter requests, spectrum assignment, joint
use, recall, and reallocation shall be posted in the NTC website and in a conspicuous place in the
offices of the NTC for at least three (3) consecutive months. The notice shall specifically indicate
the names of the applicants for spectrum assignment, joint use and recall, including where the
NTC itself is the proponent of any such action, the affected spectrum, and the applicant's or

NTC’s reasons for the proposed spectrum assignment, joint use and recall. The NTC shall not

assign, recall or allow co-use or joint use of any radio frequency band or bands without
conducting at least one (1) public hearing and allowing public comment for a period of fifteen
(15) days from the date of the public hearing, prior to approval and/or disapproval of the same.
This shall apply to all spectrum, whether used for data transmission or not;

(b) All radio spectrums, radio frequency assignments, recalls, and joint use decisions of
the NTC shall be published in the NTC website and in a conspicuous place in the offices of the
NTC for at least three (3) consecutive months. The recall of frequency for purposes of free
public use shall be given priority.

‘The immediately preceding paragraphs (a) and (b) herein shall not apply to applications
for frequency assignments for fixed point-to-point radio links, wifi, and satellite networks;

(c) The NTC shall avoid the concentration of spectrum resources in the hands of a few
players and shall not assign, or allow joint use of radio spectrum in a manner that establishes,
promotes or perpetuates the dominance of PTEs. Any entity who believes that any one or more
of the NTC’s decisions for the assignment of radio spectrum, whether past or present, which will
promote the dominance of any entity and hinder competition, may file a complaint before the
PCC to determine the dominance of a data transmission industry participant and deal with anti-
competitive conduct in accordance with its mandate under Republic Act No.10667, otherwise
known as the “Philippine Competition Act”;

(d) The NTC shall promptly act on applications of data transmission industry participants
for permits to import equipment. Any application for a permit to import equipment that is not

acted on by the NTC within seven (7) days shall be deemed approved;

(e) If the NTC finds, on its own initiative or upon complaint, that any right, license or
radio spectrum assignment to any data transmission industry participant or PTE is not being
used, or is not being maximized by the user thereof, or that the grantee has violated the
provisions of this Act, it may, motu proprio or upon petition by any, subject to due process,
recall the radio spectrum assignment of the data transmission industry participant or PTE. The
NTC shall, where required and appropriate, work with the data transmission industry participant
or PTE concerned to take appropriate measures to minimize the impact of such recall on active
users of services utilizing the recalled spectrum. The foregoing notwithstanding, no frequency

shall be recalled within eighteen (18) months of the awarding of a provisional authority, license


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or registration; and
(f) The NTC shall ensure that the allocation, reallocation, assignment, reassignment,
reclassification, joint use or co-use, and recall of spectrum does not result in the concentration of

spectrum resources which promote, establish, or perpetuate the significant market power of PTEs

or of only a limited number of participants. In instances where the resulting assignment of
spectrum for mobile and point-to-multipoint networks will give an assignee or entities it controls,
jointly or singly, or under common control, either by virtue of that request or in combination
with other previous requests by that party or its affiliates, fifteen percent (15%) or above of
assignable spectrum in the same band, the party requesting for an assignment of spectrum or a
joint use of spectrum shall be required to serve notice to the PCC and secure a no-objection
notice from the PCC. The PCC shall issue a no-objection notice within thirty (30) working-days
upon its receipt of pertinent information necessary for the review and issuance of the notice:
Provided, That the PCC may once extend such period for an additional fifteen (15) working-days
upon their notification of the NTC and the concerned party or parties to a spectrum allocation,
reallocation, assignment, reassignment, reclassification, joint use or co-use, and recall

SEC. 8. Setting Performance Standards. ~The NC shall:

(a) Mandate that, within one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act, all last mile
providers shall provide a minimum download speed of two (2) megabits per second or as
mandated by the National Broadband, whichever is higher, for mobile broadband and for fixed
wireless/ broadband access;

(b) Prescribe performance standards after public consultation and hearings within six (6)
months from the effectivity of this Act;

(c) Regularly upgrade performance standards imposed on the data transmission industry
to ensure that performance standards shall, at a minimum, be at par with service levels
established in regional data network performance indices and aligned with international best
practices, Such standards shall take into account speed, packet loss, jitter, and latency;

(d) Regularly review performance standards at least once a year and publish new
performance standards at least thirty (30) days before they take effect. The publication of the
results of the performance measurements shall be done in an open data format and made
accessible to the general public;

(c) Any person, or the NTC itself, may, motu proprio, file a petition to penalize any data

transmission industry participant for failure to deliver service according to the NTC’s published
performance standard and to require rectification of such noncompliance; and

(f) Measure the performance of the data industry participants quarterly and publish the
results of its assessment in its website.

SEC. 9. Arms-length Transactions and Transparency. ~ The NTC shall:

(a) Publish and make available in print and online formats all aspects of spectrum use

information, including the National Radio Frequency Allocation Table (NRFAT), indicating

n,
therein the purpose or use to which cach frequency band is allocated, and, for frequency bands
allocated for public use, the persons and/or entities to whom each particular frequency is

ai

igned. The NRFAT and updated radio spectrum use information shall be made available on

the NTC’s website and to any person who requests the same, upon written request; and


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(b) Promulgate rules requiring all data transmission industry participants to file an annual
report and include therein a fair and accurate statement regarding their market prices and their
services. The annual report shall include all costs and charges relevant to the data transmission
network segment where the participants operate. The rates shall be made available online, in
print, and in any other viable venue to the public. Any person can file a complaint pertaining to
these rates within thirty (30) days of posting. Each player at each segment shall submit a copy of
their rates to the NTC and the PCC. The rates shall be published, including a historical record, in
a consolidated manner. The data transmission industry participants shall keep a publicly
accessible archive of their rates.

SEC. 10, Fair Competition. — The PCC and the NTC shall ensure that the principles
and policies enshrined under the Philippine Competition Act are strictly adhered to in the data
transmission industry. The PCC and the NTC shall ensure that all industry players observe fair,
reasonable, and nondiscriminatory treatment in all their dealings, and that barriers to entry are
eliminated to make the industry highly competitive. To this end, within thirty (30) days from the
effectivity of this Act, the PCC and the NTC shall enter into an agreement to foster and develop
interagency cooperation mechanisms, including information-sharing tools, that will guide them
in the performance of their respective mandates, and in the promotion of fair competition in the
data transmission industry

SEC. 11. Technological Neutrality. ~ The NTC shall ensure that the provisions of this
law apply, mutatis mutandis, to future technologies in data transmission.

SEC. 12. Infrastructure Sharing and Co-location. — The DICT and the NTC shall
promulgate policies, rules, and regulations to ensure that passive infrastructure, whether existing
or built in the future, necessary or capable of supporting data transmission networks ot services

al

(a) made mandatory for open access and made available for co-location and co-use by the
owner of network facilities, equipment, and infrastructure on an open, fair, and
nondiscriminatory basis to any access seeker’s network facilities, in any segment, subject to the

technical feasibility of the access seeker’s request and the network facility and infrastructure

owner's standard published offer terms, conditions, and rates: Provided, That the provision of
access to government-owned and -operated facilities and support infrastructure to access seekers
for the purpose of offering data transmission services shall be mandatory, unless special
circumstances, such as but not limited to national security concerns, exist:

(b) built not only in the city centers, but most especially in the remote, unserved, and
underserved areas in order to extend data transmission services by both the existing and new
players throughout the country;

(c) as far as possible, deployed together with roadworks, pipe-laying, and other
infrastructure development by both government and private entities; and

(d) proliferated in the most cost-efficient and timely manner through various means,
including, encouraging the operation of independent entities that build and operate towers, dark
fiber, and utility corridors, among other passive infrastructure that help facilitate data
transmission network deployment.

The DICT shall coordinate and issue a policy with other relevant government agencies


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upon consultation with stakeholders to implement this provision, For purposes of data
transmission, the NTC shall, in case of a dispute arising from an infrastructure sharing
agreement: (1) mediate between a data transmission industry participant and an infrastructure
owner, and (2) serve as the primary enforcer of this provision.

The DICT and the NTC shall promulgate policies, rules, and regulations to ensure that
buildings, condominiums, villages, towns, and subdivisions are all built with facilities, such as
cable entrances, ducts, and risers, that allow nondiscriminatory access to multiple data
transmission industry players in order for them to provide service. They shall also promulgate
policies, rules, and guidelines that will ensure a level-playing field and price nondiscrimination
among data transmission industry participants and network facility and infrastructure owners.

The DICT and the NTC, in coordination with relevant government agencies, shall also
ensure the disaster resiliency and ease of recovery and restoration of passive infrastructure, such
‘as towers, poles, and utility corridors, from the effects of disasters by strictly enforcing
compliance with internationally-accepted engineering standards and best practices, and relevant
engineering codes and codes of practice.

The DICT and the NTC shall maintain an updated database of data transmission
infrastructure, including passive infrastructure used to support data transmission. The database,
to be updated annually, shall include the exact location, ownership, technical specifications, and

other relevant information about the facility.

CHAPTER IV
PROHIBITED ACTS

SEC. 13. Prohibited Acts. ~The following acts are prohibited:

(a) Refusal to Plug and Play. ~ Any data transmission industry participant, insofar as such
person is so engaged, shall not refuse access to infrastructure to any other data transmission
industry participant, except for failure to pay open market fees for the access to the service.

Data transmission industry participants shall not impede the end user's right to access and
distribute information and content, use and provide applications and services and use terminal
equipment of their choice, regardless of the end user’s or provider's location or the location,
origin or destination of the information, content, application or service via their data transmission
service.

Agreements between data transmission providers of data services and end users on
commercial and technical conditions and the characteristics of data access services such as price,
data volume or speed, and any commercial practices conducted by providers of internet access
services shall not limit the exercise of the rights of end users laid down in the preceding
paragraph;

(b) Paid Prioritization. — A data transmission industry participant shall not engage in paid
prioritization for monetary or other consideration except when allowed by the NTC after such
participant demonstrates that the practice will provide significant public interest benefit and will
not disadvantage content and applications that are not prioritized or harm the open nature of the
internet;

(c) Throttling. - A data transmission industry participant shall treat all traffic equally


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when providing data access services without discrimination, restriction or interference,
regardless of the sender and receiver, the content accessed or distributed, the applications or
services used or provided, or the terminal equipment used

It shall be prohibited for a data transmission industry participant to hinder or slow down
services or applications or access to specific sites in the internet except where (1) access to such
sites, services or applications are prohibited by law; (2) it is necessary to preserve the integrity
and security of the network and service of the provider or the equipment of the end user:
Provided, That if the breach of integrity or security is caused by the equipment of the end user,
the provider has to notify the end user first and give the former sufficient time to rectify the
situation; and (3) it is necessary to block the transmission of unwanted communications such as
spam and child pornographic materials upon the complaint of the end user or the data
transmission industry participant:

(d) Refusal to Give Information. — It shall be prohibited for any data transmission
industry participant, including PTEs with regard to its network and facilities, to refuse or fail to
make available to suppliers of data transmission services, on a timely basis, the technical
information about its essential facilities or network facilities and commercially relevant
information that are necessary for the efficient provision of their services; and

(e) Anti-competitive Cross-subsidization. ~ ‘The NTC shall require separate books of
accounts between different data transmission segments in order to allow identification of costs
and revenues for each segment. Any violation of this provision shall give rise to a presumption
of anti-competitive cross-subsidization, which shall then be referred to the Philippine
Competition Commission for proper determination and action, in accordance with the provisions
of Republic Act No. 10667. Nothing herein shall prevent interconnecting networks from
charging the appropriate cost-based compensation for the use of interconnection facilities,

SEC. 14, Administrative Penalties. ~The NTC shall require data transmission industry
participants and PTEs providing data transmission services to comply with prescribed
performance standards and shall impose penalties for failure to comply with such performance
standards.

(a) Any data transmission industry participant who fails to comply with the minimum
service standards set by the NTC shall be imposed a minimum penalty of a fine of not less than
One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) but not more than Five million pesos
(P5,000,000.00) per day for every day during which such default or violation continues, until the
participant fully complies: Provided, That if the data transmission industry participant has a
gross annual income not exceeding Ten million pesos (P10,000,000.00), the penalty that may be
imposed shall be equivalent to one percent (1%) to two percent (2%) of its gross annual income.
The NTC is hereby authorized and empowered to impose such fine, after due notice and hearing.

(b) An entity who fails to substantially comply with the NTC’s performance standards for
three (3) consecutive years shall, subject to due process, be removed from the registry of
registered data transmission industry participants and shall be prohibited from rendering data
transmission services,

(c) Any data transmission industry participant who engages in the prohibited acts under

Section 12 of this Act or fails to comply with the performance standards set by the NTC shall


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suffer a minimum penalty of a fine of not less than Three hundred thousand pesos (P300,000.00)
but not more than Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00) for every day that the violation continues
until the participant fully complies: Provided, That if the data transmission industry participant
has a gross annual income not exceeding ‘Ten million pesos (P10,000,000.00), the penalty that
may be imposed shall be equivalent to one percent (1%) to two percent (2%) of its gross annual
income. In cases of anti-competitive cross-subsidization, the imposable penalties are those
provided under Republic Act No. 10667.

(d) A data transmission industry participant violating any provision of this Act shall
forfeit all certificates, licenses, authorizations, rights, and awards issued to it in relation to its
participation in the data transmission industry.

(e) Any other violations not specifically penalized under the relevant provisions of this
‘Act shall be penalized by a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) and not more
than Two million pesos (P2,000,000.00).

SEC. 15. Adjustment for Inflation. — The fines imposed under this Act shall be adjusted
by the NTC, year-on-year, considering the prevailing cost of money based on the current

consumer price index, and subject to publication of such adjustments.

CHAPTER V.
RIGHTS OF DATA TRANSMISSION SERVICE USERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF
DATA TRANSMISSION SERVICE PROVIDERS

SEC. 16. Rights of End Users. — The user of data transmission services shall have the
following basic rights:

(a) To be entitled to data transmission services which is nondiscriminatory, reliable, and
conforming with minimum standards set by the NTC;

(b) To be rendered data transmission services within two (2) months from application for
service;

(c) Regular, timely and accurate billing, courteous and efficient service at business

offices and by company personnel;
(d) Timely correction of errors in billing and the immediate provision of rebates or
refunds by the data transmission service provider without the need for demand by the user; and
(e) Thorough and prompt investigation of, and action upon complaints. The data

transmission service provider shall endeavor to allow complaints to be received by any means

convenient to the end user, including voice calls, post, short messaging service (SMS), multi-
media messages (MMS) and online communication, and shall keep a record of all complaints
received and the action taken to address the complaints.

Subject to the filing of a formal request to the data service provider, a user may request
the immediate termination of service without the imposition of fees or penalties, and with there
fund of any fee or charge already paid by the user, should a data service provider not consistently
comply with paragraphs (a), (d), and (e) of this Section or any other minimum performance

standards set by the NTC.


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CHAPTER VI
FINAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 17. Expedited Processing. — In all instances where a participant in the data
transmission industry shall require a form, certificate, or request from any government agency or
local government unit (LGU), there should be no more than two (2) public officers involved in
processing the form, certificate, or request.

Processing fees and certifications required for the deployment of any segment of data
transmission networks shall be limited to those identified by the DICT. The DICT shall

coordinate with the concerned national government agencies and LGUs, and conduct the

necessary consultations with civil society organizations and other stakeholder groups, for the

development of the implementing rules and policies to minimize the administrative burden of

permitting and certification processes.

SEC. 18. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within sixty (60) days from the
effectivity of this Act, the NTC shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for its
effective implementation.

SEC. 19. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Open Access in Data
Transmission, ~ There shall be created a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Open
Access in Data Transmission (ICOCOADT) which shall monitor and ensure the effective
implementation of this Act. It shall determine weaknesses and loopholes in the law, recommend
the necessary remedial legislation or administrative measures and perform such other duties and
functions as may be necessary to attain the objectives of this Act.

‘The JCOCOADT shall be composed of five (5) members from the Senate and five (5)
members from the House of Representatives, in addition to the Chairperson of the Senate
Committee on Science and Technology and the Chairperson of the House of Representatives
committee on Information and Communications Technology: Provided, That two (2) members of
each chamber’s nominees shall come from the ranks of the minority party/bloc.

‘The Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology and the
Chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Information and Communications
Technology shall act as co-Chairpersons of the JCOCOADT. The ranking minority members

nominated by both the Senate and the House of Representatives shall act as co-Vice

Chairpersons. The Secretariat of the JCOCOADT shall come from the existing Secretariat

personnel of the Committee on Science and Technology of the Senate and the Committee on
Information and Communications Technology of the House of Representatives. The
JCOCOADT shall have its own independent counsel.

The JCOCOADT shall exist for a period not exceeding five (5) years from the effectivity
of this Act. Thereafter, its oversight functions shall be exercised by the Senate Committee on
Science and Technology and the House of Representatives Committee on Information and
Communications Technology, acting separately.

SEC. 20. Separability Clause. — Should any provision herein be declared
unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 21. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or other

issuances or parts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or


modified accordingly.
SEC. 22. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation,

Approved.