Lawmaker asks NTC to reduce cost of Internet connectivity

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) yesterday to reduce the cost of Internet connectivity to enable more Filipinos to have access to the worldwide information and communications network.

He said the NTC should require the merged Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.-Digitel Telecom to cut connectivity cost so that other players may follow suit.

“Since the bigger PLDT-Digitel would control six of the seven international submarine cables and four of the five cable landing stations, it would have almost total control of Internet facilities, allowing them to dictate higher Internet connectivity cost,” he said.

He said the NTC should address this issue if it wants more Filipinos to have access to the Internet, which they could use to obtain information, and for education and business.

“The higher Internet connectivity cost is the bane, which has kept the Philippines in the dark ages when it comes to Internet connectivity,” he stressed.

He pointed out that there have been surveys showing that Internet use in the country is below 10 percent mainly because a majority of country’s population of 100 million could hardly afford the higher Internet connectivity cost.

Castelo also suggested that the merged PLDT-Digitel be required to offer lower rates for domestic and international phone calls.

The charge should be on the basis of per-second instead of per-minute use.

“The adoption of the per-second charge rate for all calls would mean lesser cost for consumers and end-users,” he said.

Earlier, Castelo said the PLDT-Digitel union would require congressional approval as provided for in the respective legislative franchises of the two telecommunications companies.

He also said the NTC should have waited for the final decision of the Supreme Court on the PLDT ownership issue before giving its “provisional approval” to the merger.