PLDT vs. IP peering?
Another point that was raised during the hearing was the issue of IP peering. Connecting to local Internet exchange points allows for the faster flow of local traffic among local ISPs. In the Philippines, majority of the ISPs, with the exception of PLDT, are connected to the Philippine Open Internet Exchange.
According to independent telecom/ICT policy researcher Grace Mirandilla-Santos, PLDT took a hard stance against multilateral, open IP peering. She quoted PLDT spokesperson Ray Espinosa as saying that those who complain about slow Internet speeds are those who abuse the service.
Misleading advertisements
During the hearing, DTI Undersecretary Victorio Mario Dimagiba also pointed out that telco companies only mention maximum Internet speeds in their advertisements, but do not talk about the minimum speeds that consumers could possibly experience.
"We should advertise what is our assured speed and people should be paying on the assured speed and not based on ‘up to’," Senator Aquino told reporters after the hearing.
"DOJ is also coming out with a memorandum circular stating na iyong advertisements ng ating telcos, kailangan ding mas malinaw para sa mamamayan natin," he added.
The Senate hearing was cut short due to time constraits, but another hearing will be scheduled to discuss the matter further.
