Internet data rollover bill gets House OK on third and final reading
MANILA, Philippines—The House of Representatives on Wednesday unanimously passed on third and final reading a measure allowing unused internet data to roll over until the end of the year or be converted into rebates so that consumers need not lose unused data at the end of a given period.
During plenary session, 222 House members voted to pass House Bill No. 87, or the Rollover Internet Bill, which mandates that all unused data allocation of subscribers who avail of internet data package promo offers be accumulated until the end of the year, on the condition that the subscriber renews the subscription right after the lapse of the offer duration.
The authors of the bill – Cavite Reps Ramon Jolo Revilla III and Lani Mercado-Revilla, and Agimat Partylist Rep. Bryan Revilla – said the bill is aimed at correcting what they considered as the “fundamentally unfair” situation where internet service subscribers lose unused data at the end of a given period.
READ: Bill requiring ISPs to roll-over data allocation gets House OK
“For postpaid users, this often means forfeiting paid but unused megabytes or gigabytes. For prepaid subscribers, it means re-purchasing similar data promos just to maintain connection – often without maximizing their previous allocations,” they said in their explanatory note.
They added that the measure “strengthens digital inclusion, especially for students, remote workers, small business owners, and families who are now more reliant than ever on online platforms.”
Should it eventually be signed into law, the bill also provides that unused data allocation for a year could be converted to rebates, which may be used as payment for internet service in the succeeding year.
Users who still have unused data allocation but do not renew their subscriptions within five days from the lapse of the promo period shall result in a 20 percent reduction of the allocation until the subscription is renewed.
After five days and the user still fails to renew their subscription, the unused data allocation shall be considered consumed. /gsg
