NTC Memorandum Circular 01-02-2011
HAVE you ever inadvertently run up a smartphone bill amounting to hundreds of thousands of pesos? Yes, it does happen!

“One officemate got a bill worth P100,000+ with less than two weeks’ use of the Internet, and one got a bill worth P50,000+ with less than one week of usage. Both of them used their phones to connect to the Internet,” reported a netizen.

Another said: “I was informed through text that my bill was P5,000-plus about a week or two after using the iPhone. When I had my bill, Internet usage was more than P4,000 when all I did was surf using our wifi.”

Fortunately, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is addressing these and similar cases of smartphone users being charged for Internet use on their mobile phones due to non-familiarity with the Internet settings and charges.

In Memorandum Circular 01-02-2011, the commission ordered dealers and retailers to inform buyers of the settings and capabilities of the phones, specifically the settings on Internet access and charges for the same. Internet access shall be disabled if buyers so request.

Telcos on the other hand were required to inform their subscribers of the charges for accessing the Internet using mobile phones. Under the new rules, the service providers shall send a notice to subscribers attempting to access the Internet through their cellular phones that accessing shall be charged a specific amount per hour or per volume.

Service providers are also mandated to provide Internet access service only to those who opted to avail of the service, and to remind them, through text messages, when have consumed at least 50% of the credit limit.