DICT gives telcos 6 months to comply with 1-yr prepaid load validity

The Department of Information and Communications Technology has given telecommunication companies a six-month grace period to implement a one-year validity of prepaid loads with amounts under P300.

Unused prepaid credits' expiry date has been extended to one year starting on January 5, through the Joint Memorandum Circular No. 05-12-2017 of DICT with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the Department of Trade and Industry.

DICT-led joint circular has amended NTC Memorandum Circular No. 03-07-2009 or the Guidelines on Prepaid Loads that had the following expiry scheme:

• over P300 prepaid load - 120 days,
• P250 to P300 - 75 days,
• P150 to P250  - 60 days,
• P100 to P150 - 45 days,
• P50 to P100 - 30 days,
• P10 to P50 - 15 days, and
• P10 or lower - three days

DICT officer-in-charge Eliseo Rio said that the six-month grace period is intended to give telcos the time to adjust their software, warning that they will be penalized if they fail to do so.

He added that this would also test the competition between the so-called duopoly of PLDT's Smart Communications and Globe Telecom, Inc.

"Mag-a-adjust [sila] sa kanilang software at ite-test pa ho nila, dapat i-test nila at 'yun nga ho humihingi sila ng mga six months. Pero sabi namin sa kanila, sige six months, kung hindi niyo matupad, doon kayo mape-penalize," Rio said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

"Dapat ngayon pa lang nag-a-apura na kayo mag-comply, kasi yung pinakaunang maka-comply, siguradong dudumugin siya nung subscriber ng hindi naka-comply agad...," he said.

A six-month grace period is too long, he noted, and if there was real competition, they would race for the shortest time to comply.

"At kung sabay-sabay nilang paabutin pa ng six months ang pag-a-adjust, ay talagang klarong-klaro na ho na may duopoly ... at hindi nagko-compete," he added. 

On the other hand, Rio apologized to prepaid subscribers for DITC's failure to meet  their expectations on the minimum load validity.

"Unang una humihingi kami ng paumanhin sa publiko na yung expectation nila nabulabog at hindi namin nagawa yung aming nasabi...Nagkaron tayo ng Christmas season at nung paglabas natin ng Christmas season nagkakaron ng mukhang maging delikado po 'pag ating apurahin lalo na yung three-day na load lang dahil milyon-milyon ho yun ... eh baka ho mag-crash yung sistema ng loading system ng telcos," he said.

"'Pag nag-load ka nung January 5 may three months ang validity ... within the three months, nakapaggawa ho sila ng adjustment, so walang problema 'yun, in fact ho ang umiiral na ho yung sa P300, one year na ho 'yan...so yung sunod na problema yung one month na palagay ko 'yun ang kanilang gagawan ng paraan as soon as possible. Ang pinakamabusisi yung three days," he added.

Moreover, Rio said that the DICT instructed the NTC to closely monitor and address the complaints about "disappearing" prepaid loads. —LBG, GMA News