DICT, DTI, NTC Extend Prepaid Load Validity
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) filed a new joint memorandum agreement extending prepaid load validity for up to one year from initial top-up.
The amendment to the joint memorandum extends prepaid load validity (regardless of amount) to one year. This grants users more time to consume their load. In addition, it also encourages more small scale business owners to continue operations.
Trade secretary Ramon Lopez shares how the amendment seeks to assist small to medium-sized enterprises with daily transaction management. The circular, DTI emphasizes, will promote more conducive business strategies for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Be it sending SMS, making calls to customers, or accessing the internet for e-commerce, the amendment proves extremely useful.
Indeed, several Filipino users rely on their prepaid load to regularly communicate in several different channels. Not everyone can afford to subscribe to prepaid promotions, thus only consuming their load from time to time. Some, however, fail to consume all load credits before expiry, leading to wasted resources.
Originally, the NTC’s Memorandum Circular No. 03-07-2009 specifies that the amount of purchased load determines its validity for use. For example, load amounts ranging from Php 10 to Php 50 can only be consumed within fifteen days.
Of course, the memorandum excludes promo-based prepaid load, as these tend to run within a specific time period.