Senate to review removal of load, data expiration

Sen. Grace Poe will form a technical working group to study the proposed removal of the expiration of cellphone loads and mobile data.

At the hearing this Wednesday, Poe, Committee on Public Services chairman, said that it is necessary to study the details of the proposal to remove the load expiration and also listen to what telecommunications companies (telcos) are saying about it.

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The telco representatives explained in the Senate hearing that the expiration of the load is necessary because it has an additional carrying cost to the company. They also said that they will have difficulty maintaining the database.

“It will hit your bottomline. I remind the telco if you don’t suggest something that is practical and easily implemented eventually it might be difficult for you and may not be commercially viable so help us draft this committee report,” said Poe.

For now, the load expiration is one year.

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The National Telecommunications Commission or NTC, on the other hand, supports the removal of the expiration of the load.

“It is our view that as [the] number of subscribers [increases], that cost [decreases]. And it is not the same with wired,”

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Senate to review removal of load, data expiration

“Ang wired ho kasi naka-dedicate yung line sayo kaya there is carrying cost but in the mobile wala po nun eh because there is no line dedicated to you, so lumiliit nang lumiit po yan,” said NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios.

In November 2020, Senator  filed the , which aims to ban the expiry date of prepaid internet and mobile phone load.

“The harsh reality in this era of coronavirus pandemic is that we rely on information and communication technologies (ICT) in our daily life. And for those with limited resources, every peso counts,” Gatchalian said.

He added this policy is  “anti-consumer” because this kind of service depends on the subscribers’ usage. The senator said that customers should be given a choice on whether to consume all of their credits.