Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 27) — Filipinos will only feel the impact of the mobile number portability scheme once the country’s third telecommunications provider begins operation, an expert said Thursday.
“This measure, we will feel how really interested or how it will benefit all of us once a third, fourth, or fifth telco comes and operates,” Pierre Tito Galla, co-founder of advocacy group Democracy.net.ph, told CNN Philippines’ On The Record.
Republic Act 11202 or the “Mobile Number Portability Act,” which was enacted by President Rodrigo Duterte in February, allows mobile phone users to keep their number even when they switch to another service provider.
The National Telecommunications Commission early this month issued the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the policy through Memorandum Circular 03-06-2019, which will be effective on July 2.
However, the new law will be implemented in January next year, six months after the IRR takes effect, to give existing telco companies time to comply with the measure.
Galla said the new policy may help the third telco company, Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc., in gaining subscribers.
“Come the time that the third telco will start operating and securing subscribers, this mobile number portability will allow people to move. In fact it may give [marketing] opportunity to the third telco … then they can start providing better offers, and the better [the] offers, the better quality of service, or at least their promises until they prove their actual worth, will encourage the competition.. to start grabbing subscribers from one another,” he said.
Mislatel will receive its certificate of public convenience and necessity by July 8 and begin accepting subscriber in mega cities like Metro Manila and Cebu by September or October, the Department of Information and Communications Technology earlier said.
A tighter competition will then compel existing telco providers to improve their services, Galla said.
“It’s a good law. The more that we encourage competition, the more we will force, so to speak, existing telco providers to improve their services,” he said.
“There’s really no point swapping from Smart to Globe or Globe to Smart because both of them are more or less performing the same way. We need to be able to move to someone else who’s going to be able to offer better services,” he added.
READ: Mislatel to start accepting subscribers in Metro Manila by September – DICT
