Konektadong Pinoy law cracks Philippines’ data services market wide open

Details: John Tanner; Category: Regulation; 25 August 2025; 8370 views

Legislation intended to make it easier for new players to enter the Philippines’ data services market lapsed into law on Sunday over the objection of telcos that have complained the bill is unfair to them and raises cybersecurity issues.

The “Konektadong Pinoy” bill – which was ratified by the Philippine Congress in June and sent to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr last month – streamlines licensing procedures for new data access providers and allows them to invest in broadband and data transmission infrastructure without a congressional franchise. It also promotes infrastructure sharing, so that new players can use existing infrastructure in addition to building their own.

Under the Philippines Constitution, bills passed by Congress automatically become law 30 days after they are sent to the President, even if the President doesn’t sign it. Marcos Jr had until August 24 to either sign or veto the bill. As he did neither, the Konektadong Pinoy bill is now law.

The bill is intended to bring more competition to the Philippine data access market and reduce consumer prices – especially in underserved and unserved areas. Proponents of the bill say that Philippines broadband internet services are among the most expensive in Southeast Asia, which they blame in part on the Congressional franchise requirement for data service licences.

Michael G. Aguinaldo, chair of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), said in a statement last month that the Konektadong Pinoy bill’s provisions are aligned with its mandate to foster fair and open markets.

“By institutionalizing competition in the digital infrastructure sector, the bill can help lower costs, improve service quality, and expand access, especially in underserved areas,” Aguinaldo said, adding that the bill also encourages a more dynamic and responsive telecoms market.

According to a report in the Phillipine news site Inquirer on Monday, more than 1,000 small internet providers are expected to enter the market now that the bill is law.

However, the country’s three main fixed-broadband players – PLDT, Globe Telecom and Converge ICT – have opposed the bill.

According to ABS-CBN News, PLDT said earlier this month that it’s considering challenging the constitutionality of the bill, claiming that it’s biased in favour of new players – especially satellite broadband operators.

PLDT senior VP and senior legal advisor to the chairman Marilyn Victorio-Aquino argued that giving newcomers “open, fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory” access to existing digital infrastructure and services is unfair to incumbents and their subscribers for whom that infrastructure was built, the report said.

Victorio-Aquino also claimed the bill presents cybersecurity risks, as new data service players could access existing infrastructure without cybersecurity clearance for the first two years.

According to the Inquirer report, secretary Henry Aguda of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) clarified on Friday that bill requires new players to obtain international cybersecurity certification within two years, but they will have to comply with cybersecurity standards set by DICT, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center and other relevant local agencies on Day 1.

While the bill is now law, DICT still has to create the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) that detail how the provisions will be put into practice. According to a report in the Philippine Star last week, PLDT and Converge ICT urged DICT to involve them in the IRR drafting process – especially in regards to cybersecurity standards and ensuring a technology-neutral approach that doesn’t favour satellite broadband players over terrestrial service providers.