DICT BACKS PROPOSED BILLS FOR RENTAL-FREE INTERNET CONNECTIVITY

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said it will work with Congress for the reclassification of internet links as “public service,” which requires no rental payments for internet connectivity. 

DICT Assistant Secretary Renato Paraiso is referring to House Bill Nos. 900 and 8534 which seek to amend the National Building Code of the Philippines. 

HB No. 900 pushes for the inclusion of adequate space for facilities for the country’s broadband connectivity while HB No. 8534 seeks to remove the leases of telecommunication companies. 

"We make sure to participate in the discussions, especially in the Technical Working Group discussions of these bills," Paraiso said.

"But, all in all, we are very supportive and respect the direction of our legislation when it comes to what laws need to be passed," he added.

Latest data from the DICT showed at least 65% of the population is still without internet access.

"The DICT, for the record, supports that, we have to work within the bounds of the law, especially with the advent and the implementation of the Public Service Act," Paraiso pointed out.

"We have to find a way and we have to convince the lawmakers that broadband connectivity should be exempted from paying these fees; however, they should not be considered as public utilities, but rather as “public services," Paraiso added.

In early April, an independent research organization also called for the revision of the National Building Code of the Philippines to address leasing fees.

In June 2023, the World Data Lab on the Internet Poverty Index showed at least 20 million Filipinos are “internet poor” or do not have the financial capacity to avail of at least 1 gigabyte (GB) of internet data per month. — BM, GMA Integrated News

This article DICT backs proposed bills for rental-free internet connectivity was originally published in GMA News Online.

2024-06-17T16:07:56Z dg43tfdfdgfd