A proposal that would stop telecom companies from deleting your unused mobile data is gaining ground in the House of Representatives. A committee has officially endorsed the draft law, named the “Roll-Over Data Act.”
The bill aims to protect consumers by making internet service providers (ISPs) carry over a subscriber’s remaining data to their next billing period. This would apply to both prepaid and postpaid customers, allowing them to fully use the data they paid for.
Committee Chairman and Camarines Sur Representative Miguel Luis Villafuerte led the approval. He described the current practice of setting data expiration dates as “unfair” to consumers. Villafuerte also argued that people should not lose data they have purchased after a day, week, or month.
Under the proposed rules, postpaid users could accumulate their unused monthly data throughout the year. Any leftover data at year’s end could be turned into account credits. Prepaid users could keep their data only if they renew their plan on time. A delay would cause them to lose 20 percent of their saved data each day, with all of it disappearing after 5 days.
Internet providers that do not follow the law would be fined 50,000 for every offense. Those who repeatedly break the rules could have their operating licenses canceled.
The current proposal combines three earlier House bills. This is the second time such a measure has been attempted. A similar version was approved by the House in the last Congress but did not pass in the Senate.