Senate bill on locked-in period for mobile devices revised

By Camille A. Aguinaldo, Reporter
A NEW version of the proposed Network Freedom Act filed in the Senate seeks to allow postpaid mobile devices to have a lock-in period for a limited time and prohibit telecommunications companies from selling locked prepaid mobile device from a specific network.
The previous version of Senate Bill No. 1643 prohibited the locking of both prepaid and postpaid mobile devices.
In a statement, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, author of the bill and chairperson of the Senate committee on economic affairs, said the technical working group (TWG)on the bill is awaiting the findings of a study by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to determine a reasonable lock-in period for postpaid mobile devices, citing the nine-month lock-in period used in New Zealand as a global best practice.
“But the buying power of a New Zealander and the buying power of a Filipino is widely different. I think the buying power of New Zealanders is much higher so that they can shorten the time period,” Mr. Gatchalian said.
“Our system is different. The buying power here is lower, maybe there are those who want (the lock-in period) 12 months or even longer. But I think to be more educated about it, we’re requesting the NTC and DICT to come up with an analysis on this,” he added.
Members of the TWG, including representatives of telecommunication companies, also agreed that mobile devices must be automatically unlocked within 24 hours upon completion of the service contract or upon full payment of the device should a subscriber wish to pre-terminate his or her contract.
The unlocking will be done free of choice and will not void the warranties provided by the manufacturers, the TWG also said.
The new version of the bill also provides that subscribers be fully informed of the unlocking process, with the terms indicated under the mobile communications service contract.
“Telcos will be mandated to inform their subscribers of the official channels for unlocking, as well as the method and manner for unlocking, making the process completely transparent,” Mr. Gatchalian said.
The counterpart House Bill No. 22, filed by Cavite Rep. Francis Gerald A. Abaya, remains pending in the committee level.