Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon has called for the passage of the Faster Internet Services Act, which requires internet service providers (ISPs) to deliver a minimum internet connection speed of 10 megabytes per second (mbps).
Biazon, author of House Bill No. 28, or the Faster Internet Services Act, made the call after hearing reports of two brothers in Bohol who died from electrocution while installing an internet signal booster for online classes.
Tristian Dexter Namoco Hamlag, 26, and Christian Val Hamlag, 20, from Dimiao town in Bohol, died when the metal antenna pole they were installing to boost the internet signal for the latter’s online classes accidentally fell and hit an electric post near their house.
“It is unfortunate that it has come to this: slow internet speeds have become deadly. This tragic incident only underscores the need for faster and better internet services in the country especially since our students are relying on the internet to be able to study,” Biazon said.
Biazon’s bill mandates the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to require all ISPs and Public Telecommunications Entities (PTEs) to provide a minimum download speed of 10 Mbps for all broadband internet access be it mobile, fixed, or fixed wireless.
To meet the prescribed standards, the ISPs and PTEs shall modify or improve telecommunication lines or expand their infrastructure to run on higher capacity bandwidths based on the number of subscribers using their services.
The proposed legislation also sets a fine of P5 million for any ISP or PTE that fails to meet the minimum standards.
“The internet has become very essential in our daily living that even the United Nations General Assembly recognized access to the internet as a basic human right. With all its amazing functions, however, high-speed access to the internet is necessary to prove its true value and maximize full potential as a tool in development. In this aspect, speed is the name of the game,” Biazon stressed.
The lawmaker said while efforts have been made by the NTC to speed up the country’s internet connections by signing a memorandum setting the minimum broadband speed at 256 kbps and mandated service providers to disclose average data rates per location, this was still “clearly and grossly inadequate to help solve the problem.”
He noted that the Philippines is “way behind” in internet speed compared to its neighbors in Asia where some of the fastest internet speeds in the world are found.