Ex-DICT exec warns vs ‘oversimplified’ Konektadong Pinoy Bill provisions

A former Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) official issued a warning of what he said are “oversimplified” provisions of the Konektadong Pinoy Bill, which was passed in the 19th Congress.

In a statement provided to GMA News Online on Thursday, former DICT undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to veto the proposed measure to improve its provisions by the 20th Congress.

Dy said Section 16 of the proposed measure left out some details concerning the data transmission supply chain and overlooked the market dynamics of the industry.

He pointed out that the bill regulates Data Transmission Industry Players (DTIP) and forces them to share infrastructure with other players but does not mandate telecommunications facilities used by malls, subdivisions, and real estate developers to do the same.

“For example, it would have been easier for PTEs to provide service if all malls are required to put in neutral access points and pico cell sites, which can be used by any internet service provider (ISP) or PTE (Public Telecommunications Entity),” Dy said.

He added that the bill did not tackle the cause of high internet costs in the country despite malls and some real estate developers charging costly fees for constructing telco infrastructures.

Dy further noted that the penal provisions of the bill are against DTIPs and not against “lessors, real estate developers, and landlords who refuse to implement technologically neutral co-shared data transmission facilities.”

“There is no mandate for use of a co-shared active and passive data infrastructure,” the former DICT official said.

He also raised a question on how Section 16 of the bill will deal with international consortia, as all submarine cables in the US are prohibited from transporting data to China, for example.

“These international consortia usually have a local PTE as partners. But the local partners do not usually dictate the price, terms of interconnection, or internet traffic sharing rules,” he said.

Further, Dy raised concerns over the country’s national security and the problem of satellite operators.

Citing a Chinese company’s 15,000 km fiber network in northern Luzon, Dy said it cannot be denied that it will connect and supply internet to households in the area once the bill passes.

“Yes, it could offer cheaper internet, but perhaps at the cost of National Security. North Luzon is important to our national defense as it has direct access and view to two major bodies of sea, which are potential flashpoints of conflict in this Region,” he said.

“The Philippines cannot, at the moment, independently verify and control satellite operations operating above Philippine airspace,” he added.

GMA Integrated News has reached out to DICT for comment.

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda had expressed support for the bill, saying that the “increased competition will be good for the industry,” as they could divert revenues from end-users to wholesale, as new entrants could tap into their existing internet infrastructure. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News