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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
Nineteenth Congress 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. __________ 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by Representative JOEY SARTE SALCEDA 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR INTERNET 
SERVICES IN THE PILIPPINES 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Among Asia-Pacific countries, the Philippines has remained the cellar-staying laggard 
in terms of internet speed and affordability. Akamai Technologies Inc. in its report for first 
quarter of 2016 said that the Philippines ranked 14 of 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region 
with respect to internet speed, averaging a woeful 3.5 Mbps, at best 5.5 Mbps, (megabits per 
second). Compared to say South Korea which has an average of 29 Mbps, the Philippines 
internet connectivity is unacceptably slow. In this age of internet connectivity, where every 
personal and business communications as well as government transactions are highly reliant 
on the internet, the country’s slow but ironically expensive internet service weighs down 
competitiveness. As the world enters the Fourth Industrial Revolution where data has become 
the new oil, low internet speed has elevated to a comparative disadvantage especially as it 
deters the cross pollination of ideas and knowledge so critical to research and development. 
At present, the country has only 17,000 connectivity infrastructures servicing a 
population of 105 million compared to say Vietnam which has 65,000 towers for a population 
of more or less 96 million. But then again, even if these telecomm companies plans to build 
more cell sites and improve infrastructure to boost telecom services, both will have to hurdle 
almost insurmountable barriers to meet the optimum cell density in relation to the number of 
internet users.  A telecommunication company officer said, “The disproportionate low number 
of cell sites versus internet users in the Philippines is mainly attributed to difficulties in 
securing permits from various local government units (LGUs), homeowner associations 
(HOAs), and other stakeholders, causing considerable delay in the construction of such 
facilities.” Based on experience by existing telecommunication companies (telcos), putting up 
a cell tower requires three levels of bureaucracy, starting with ‘barangay’ level or local 
community officials, next is processing your engineering, electrical and sanitation permits at 
the city or municipal level while at the same time getting additional approvals and permits 
from national govt. agencies i.e. DICT-NTC, DOST, DENR, DPWH. Adding to the numerous 
permits required by local government, several Home Owners Associations, exclusive 
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8:00 am
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subdivisions and building administrators also impose their own guidelines and permits. On the 
average, from negotiations to documentation, it takes around eight months and to one year and 
25 permits before a cell site can begin construction. 
The common tower strategy of the DICT has encouraged more players into the industry 
with almost 37 interested parties and the national government has signed MOUs with 15 
corporations and identified 1,000 sites or initial locations. However, this has the unintended 
effect of increasing demand for local business permits and right of way acquisitions, thus 
increasing the bargaining position of LGUs, building owners and subdivisions. 
Simplifying and rationalizing the bureaucratic process, particularly in acquiring the 
permits to build cell towers, will dramatically enhance the build-up of telecommunications 
infrastructure in the country which can make internet connectivity at par, if not better, with the 
best in the world. 
This bill declares slow internet speed and poor internet connectivity as a national 
emergency, conversely declaring internet speed and quality as a national imperative being a 
source of national competitiveness. In this connection, the bill seeks to grant the President of 
the Republic of the Philippines emergency powers to adopt the necessary measures to be able 
to harness all available resources in order to effectively address the aforesaid predicament in a 
period of two (2) years. The President is granted the authority among others: 
a) To utilize all government resources, perform executive actions, unhampered and
unbridled by existing laws, regulations and procedures;
b)
To streamline regulatory processes and procedures in relation to the development
and improvement of internet infrastructure, including, but not limited to, any
application for the construction of cell sites or cell towers and installation of related
infrastructure facilities in order to expeditiously achieve optimum cell site density
vis-à-vis a specific area’s population size and geographical configuration;
c) To require concerned LGUs and other national agencies to issue the necessary
permits in relation to the application for the construction of cell site or cell tower
or other similar facilities within a period of seven (7) days, which may be extended
only under exceptional circumstances;
d) To enter into partnership or collaborative arrangement with any entity, public or
private, to share resources that would achieve public interest consistent to the
desired objective of this Act;
e) To draw up incentive plans and opportunities as well as impose penalties whenever
necessary in order to boost national internet service and compel the creation of the
infrastructure essential for overall economic growth; and
f)
To administer and implement remedial and such other related measures, without
due regard to existing law, regulations and procedures, in order to address the
problem of poor internet connectivity in the country;
Under the proposed bill, the Secretary of DICT is designated as the Internet Speed and 
Connectivity Crisis Manager and the DICT is ordained to formulate a sustainable 5-year 


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Internet Speed and Connectivity Reform Plan which shall among others set 1. Target speed 
and coverage 2 Quality metrics and 3. Competition Policy and Consumer Welfare aspects 
including affordability. A case in point is the commitment of 3rd Telco Player to achieve 
55mbps in 5 years from the current 8.24mbps in 2018, lower than 8.59 mbps in 2017. 
The bill also transforms the Common Tower Policy of the DICT into binding law. As 
alter ego of the President, the DICT Secretary shall have the following delegated powers: 
a) To modify, amend, or expand the functions of the DICT or NTC  as may be
determined under this  Plan;
b) Override the permits and licenses, including   building permit procedures and
governing ordinances of   Local Government Units, as well as the relevant and
existing procedures, and implement such other measures as exigencies shall
require;
c) To enter into, using perpetually, private properties, when necessary for the speedy
connection and construction of connectivity linkages network;
d) To acquire any land or property for the purpose of developing future connectivity
projects, in order to minimize cost of acquisition, and maximize value capture
opportunities for government;
e) To assist, with  the Department of Public Works and Highways, the
telecommunication companies on the installation of their fiber optic or other cable
connection necessary for the efficient internet or communication connection along
the national  and other roads;
f)
To integrate the  different modes of communication  infrastructure network;
g) To oversee the construction of structures or implementation of road works that
would improve the connectivity flow, in coordination with  the DPWH; and
h) To oversee the opening up of private roads, whether or not with the imposition of
toll fees, as additional access points, in coordination with the DPWH.
In order to avoid prolonged litigation and legal disruption that would delay the 
immediate resolution of the crisis, temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction shall 
not be issued against the government or any of its subdivisions, official or any person or entity, 
whether public or private acting under the government direction, to restrain, prohibit or compel 
the performance of certain actions including the acquisition, clearance and development of the 
right-of-way and/or site or location of any project identified by the  Crisis Manager; 
procurement of connectivity  projects, including infrastructure projects, goods, and consulting 
services; among others. 
To ensure that the provisions of the Act are properly implemented, the DITC shall be 
required to submit a monthly report to Congress on the effectiveness and effectiveness of the 
measures undertaken. A Congressional Oversight Committee will be created to monitor and 
oversee its proper implementation. 


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In view of the foregoing, the passage of this proposed bill is earnestly sought. 
JOEY SARTE SALCEDA 


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
Nineteenth Congress 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. __________ 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by Representative JOEY SARTE SALCEDA 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR INTERNET 
SERVICES IN THE PILIPPINES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Faster Internet Services 
Act”. 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State recognizes the vital role of communication 
and information in nation building and as such, it shall implement measures to provide 
communication standards suitable to the needs and aspirations of the nation. The State gives 
priority to the protection of the interests of consumers and the establishment of standards of 
conduct for business and industry for advancements in the field of telecommunications and 
connectivity. In recognition of the significant role of the internet in this information age, the 
State ensures that internet users and subscribers be accorded the best quality and reliability of 
internet connection service provided by the accredited internet service providers in the country. 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. – For the purpose of this Act, the term: 
a. Bandwidth refers to the data transfer rate or the amount of data that can be carried
from one point to another in a given time period and is usually expressed in bits per
second (bps) or multiples of it;
b. Broadband refers to a transmission capacity, which enables high-speed internet
access that is always on and faster than traditional dial-up access, transmitted
through various technologies such as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), Cable Modem,
Fiber Optic Cable, Wireless (fixed or mobile), Satellite, White Space, and other
evolving and emerging technologies as may be developed in the future;
c.
Greenfield service area refers to an area where an internet service provider is
completely absent or a market that has at least one internet service provider but does
not reach an average minimum broadband speed of 2 Megabits per second (Mbps).
 
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d. Internet Service Provider or ISP refers to an entity with or without a franchise, 
registered as a value-added service provider with the National Telecommunications 
Commission (NTC) and authorized to build, install, operate and maintain a network 
in order to offer internet access services to the public for a fee.  
 
e. Jitter refers to the variation of end-to-end delay from one packet to the next within 
the same packet stream, connection, or flow;  
 
f. Latency refers to the time it takes for a packet of data to get from a source to 
destination; 
 
g. Packet refers to the unit of data that is routed between an origin or source and a 
destination on the internet or any other packet-switched network;  
 
h. Packet loss refers to the number of packets that does not reach the destination; 
 
i. Public Telecommunications Entity or PTE refers to any person, firm, partnership or 
corporation, 
government 
or 
private, 
engaged 
in 
the 
provision 
of 
telecommunications services to the public for a fee; and 
 
j. Service reliability or “uptime” refers to the delivery of a certain percentage of 
advertised speed to a subscriber over a given time.  
 
SEC. 4. Delivery of Advertised Speed. – Within one (1) year from the effectivity of this 
Act, the NTC is hereby mandated to require all ISPs to only advertise and offer internet service 
download speeds that they can consistently provide and work towards providing an average 
internet connection speed above global average. PTEs and ISPs shall deliver eighty percent 
(80%) of advertised broadband speed to their subscribers at eighty percent (80%) service 
reliability or eighty percent (80%) of the time: Provided, That the minimum broadband 
download speed delivered to subscribers shall not be lower than 10 mbps in metropolitan cities, 
5 mbps in all other cities, and 2 mbps in rural areas within a 2-year compliance period for fixed 
and mobile internet connectivity across the country: Provided, further, That PTEs and ISPs 
that will expand coverage and offer internet services in “greenfield service areas” or previously 
unserved and underserved areas, as identified by the DICT, shall not be subjected to the 
minimum download speed for the next five (5) years.    
 
In order to meet the prescribed minimum speed standards, PTEs shall modify, improve 
or change existing telecommunication lines and systems or expand and upgrade their 
infrastructure in order to deliver higher capacity bandwidths based on the number of internet 
subscribers demanding their services. ISPs shall be allowed to own, establish, and operate 
networks for internet services, utilizing any available technology, and to access radio spectrum, 
such as but not limited to fixed wireless, TV white space, and satellite technologies necessary 
to enable them to deliver internet services, especially in remote rural areas that are underserved 
or unserved by other networks: Provided, That ISPs shall not build international carrier, inter-
exchange, local exchange, and mobile radio telephone networks reserved for PTEs, as provided 
for in Republic Act No. 7925 or the Public Telecommunications Policy Act. 
 
The NTC shall, together with the DICT, shall conduct an annual review of the 
implementation of this Act and adjust the minimum standard to provide consumers an average 
internet connection download speed equal to, or above what is prevalent among Asian countries 


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or the global average, and other quality of service parameters and standards regarding internet 
connection. The DICT and the NTC shall publish the results of the review and the updated 
standards on their official websites.: Provided, That internet speed and service reliability of 
internet connections delivered by service providers shall be measured based on the 
measurement methodology prescribed by the NTC.  
 
SEC. 5. Measurement and Publication of Broadband Quality of Service. – The NTC 
shall: 
 
a. In coordination with the DICT, develop a set of criteria and methodology for the 
measurement and publication of internet quality of service (QOS) parameters, such 
as download speed, upload speed, packet loss, jitter, latency, and service availability, 
after public consultation and hearings within six (6) months from the effectivity of 
this Act. 
 
b. Provide the public a mechanism to run broadband diagnostics in a secure and 
consumer-friendly format; 
 
c. Develop a procedure for collecting and analyzing broadband QOS measurements 
from various platforms and processing test data in a central database which shall 
update and release results every twenty-four (24) hours, at the least;     
 
d. Diligently monitor and conduct monthly network audits in order to ensure 
compliance of the PTEs and ISPs with the delivery of advertised speeds, and publish 
the results of its network audit on a monthly basis in an open data format accessible 
to the general public;   
 
e. After the 2-year compliance period, review compliance of PTEs and ISPs with the 
minimum download speeds and prescribe and upgrade, on an annual basis, the 
minimum broadband download speed and other QOS standards, 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 QOS standards shall take into 
account speed, packet loss, jitter, and latency: Provided, That the NTC shall not 
decrease the minimum speeds set forth under this Act: Provided, further, That new 
performance standards shall be published at least thirty (30) days before they take 
effect; and 
 
f. Furnish a copy of the raw data of all network audits and measurements to the DICT. 
The DICT and NTC shall publish the most updated results of network audits and 
measurements on their official website and social media accounts on a monthly 
basis.   
 
SEC. 6. Responsibilities of the DICT. – In addition to responsibilities imposed in other 
sections of this Act, the DICT shall:  
 
a. Maintain and make public a National ICT Assets Index (NICTAI), which shall be 
updated on an annual basis, in order to provide accurate data on broadband coverage 
and ICT adoption and utilization in the country;  
 


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b. Conduct the national ICT household survey and publish the national ICT household 
plan every three (3) years, and identify unserved and underserved areas for purposes 
of this Act; and 
 
c. Regularly review and, as necessary, modify ICT standards and policies to ensure that 
Philippine internet service is at par with global standards.  
 
SEC. 7. Authorized Powers of the President. – The President of the Republic of the 
Philippines, through the cabinet secretaries, is hereby granted the authority to issue rules and 
regulations to carry out any and all of the following actions in furtherance of this Act: 
 
a. To streamline regulatory processes, and procedures in relation to the development 
and improvement of internet infrastructure, including, but not limited to, any 
application for the construction, installation, and commissioning of infrastructure 
and related facilities in order to expeditiously achieve optimum access vis-a-vis a 
specific area’s population size and geographical configuration;  
 
b. To ensure that regulatory costs are limited to such amounts as may be deemed 
equitable and fair to all stakeholders;  
 
c. To ensure that concerned local government units (LGUs) and pertinent national 
agencies  issue the necessary permits in relation to the application for the 
construction, installation, and commissioning of infrastructure within the time period 
provided for in Republic Act No. 11032 otherwise known as the “Ease of Doing 
Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018” and in 
accordance with Section 4(ii) of Republic Act No. 11494 otherwise known as the 
“Bayanihan To Recover As One Act”; 
 
d. To enter into partnerships or collaborative arrangements with any entity, public or 
private, to share resources that would achieve public interest consistent to the desired 
objective of this Act; 
 
e. To require PTEs and ISPs to submit, within 15 working days upon the request of the 
DICT or the NTC, a copy of their most updated and complete broadband network 
map, to enable the President to draw up incentive plans and opportunities in order to 
boost national internet service and compel the creation of the infrastructure essential 
for overall economic growth; 
 
f. To promulgate policies, rules, and regulations to ensure that passive infrastructure, 
whether existing or built in the future, necessary or capable of supporting internet 
networks or services are 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 non- discriminatory 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; and 
 
g. To administer and implement remedial and such other related measures in order to 
address the problem of poor internet connectivity in the country. 
 


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           SEC. 8.  Rights of End Users. – The user of Internet services shall have the following basic 
rights: 
     
a. To be entitled to Internet services which is non-discriminatory, reliable, and 
conforming with minimum standards set by the NTC;  
 
b. To be rendered Internet services within two (2) months from application for service, 
in areas where the service is advertised to be available except when delay or inability 
is due to factors beyond ISPs control: Provided, That applicant is duly notified 
through any practicable means within the same period; 
 
c. Timely correction of errors in billing or in prepaid load and the immediate provision 
of rebates or refunds by the service provider without the need for demand by the 
user;  
 
d. Thorough and prompt investigation, and action seven (7) working days within the 
submission of a complaint to a service provider, by any means convenient to the end 
user, including in-person reporting, voice call, post, short messaging service (SMS), 
and any online communication. The service provider shall keep a record of all 
complaints received and the action taken to address the complaints, until such time 
that the complaint has been effectively addressed; and 
 
e. Subject to the filing of a formal request to the service provider, a user may request 
the immediate termination of service without the imposition of fees or penalties, and 
with the refund of any unutilized/unconsumed fee or charge already paid by the 
subscriber, should a service provider not consistently comply with preceding 
paragraphs (a), (c), (d), or any minimum performance standards set by the NTC.  
 
SEC. 9.  Penalties. – The NTC may, motu proprio or upon complaint of any interested 
party, in the appropriate administrative and/or quasi-judicial process, and in accordance with 
due process, shall: 
 
a. Require any PTE or ISP, who shall not meet the requirements set forth under this 
Act, to comply with service standards that have not been met, or provisions of this 
Act that have been violated, within seven (7) working days, including compelling 
the service provider to pre-terminate the subscription contract of an end user without 
penalty of a pre-termination fee; and 
 
b. Impose upon entities who do not comply with internet service standards provided in 
Section 4 and 5 of this Act and as prescribed by the NTC, the following: 
 
i. 
The penalty of a fine of not less than two hundred thousand pesos 
(PhP200,000.00) but not more than wo million pesos (PhP2,000,000.00) for 
each count of violation: Provided, That if a service provider has a gross 
annual income not exceeding ten million pesos (PhP10,000,000.00), the 
penalty shall be equivalent to one percent (1%) to two percent (2%) of its 
gross annual income; and  
 
ii. 
For repeated violations, revoke the PTE’s provisional authority or certificate 
of public convenience and necessity, or cancel the registration of an ISP, 


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whichever applies, including the waiving of any pre-termination fees of 
affected subscribers and timely disbursement of any remaining credits from 
excessive downtime.  
 
Failure to pay the fines or penalties in any case within the time specified in the 
order or decision of the NTC shall be deemed sufficient ground for the suspension of 
the certificate of the erring PTE or ISP until payment thereof shall have been made. 
 
SEC. 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). – Within sixty (60) days from the 
effectivity of this Act, the NTC and the DICT shall promulgate the necessary rules and 
regulations for the effective implementation of the provisions of this Act.  
   
SEC. 11.  Separability Clause. —  If any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional or 
invalid, other parts or provisions hereof not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force 
and effect. 
 
SEC. 12. Repealing Clause. — All laws, orders, issuances, circulars, rules and 
regulations or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby 
repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
SEC. 13.  Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,