Thursday, October 05, 2006 Toral: Guidelines for Internet users By Janette Toral Digital Filipino
PROTECTION. THE National Telecommunications Commission and the Department of Trade and Industry are currently drafting two important guidelines that will have an impact on Internet users today. The first one is Consumer Protection for Broadcast and Public Telecommunication Entities (PTEs).
This guideline will outline the applicability of the Consumer Protection Act to these services—from one-sided contract favoring the service provider, failure in providing sustained service quality as committed or advertised, among others.
Another guideline that will be issued soon is the Retention and Lawful Access of Records and Logbooks of PTEs.
This is aimed at providing clear procedures in securing records and logbooks for the processing of consumer complaints and initial law enforcement investigations.
The Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Bill of Rep. Simeon Kintanar was already approved on third reading last month at the House of Representatives.
I hope the Senate will already move forward with it and result to a potential VoIP Law by the first quarter of 2007.
The wide variety of VoIP services is giving Internet users a wide variety of options. One can even have a Philippine-based phone number while being based in the US.
Interest in e-commerce is truly way high up there. Iskul.net and the GrapeBunch.com are organizing their own e-commerce related seminars this month.
The DigitalFilipino.com Club meeting this Oct. 20, with the help of YesPayments.com, is centering on lessons learned in selling products online this holiday season.
Internet-based entrepreneurs Jovel Cipriano of PinoyDelikasi.com, Abby Ongyanco of VirraMall.com, Jay Frank De Jesus of TitikPilipino.com and Roy Platon will be sharing their personal insight and experience in that area.
The entrepreneur behind Your One Stop Shopping Network or YOSSN.com, Cannie May, will be in the country this November to meet with her merchants and prospective sellers.
It is amazing to see how YOSSN.com has evolved into a competitive merchant provider in the country.
Another site that you can expect to make some noise in the months to come is Kababayan.ph, which has an intent to bridge Filipinos wherever they are in the world.
Jonno Alcaro visited the country several times, striking partnership deals as well for its forthcoming shopping site, Barangay.ph.
Fiscal incentives. Sen. Mar Roxas, in one forum organized by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines last month, gave his view on the pending moves in revising government incentives. Roxas said incentives must be re-designed in order to fit the needs of industries and the economy.
He is encouraging the government to see fiscal incentives as necessary discounts to compensate for competitive areas where we are weak rather than be treated as costs.
The Philippine Internet Commerce Society (http://www.pics.org.ph ) launched its E-Business Made Easy book with the help of Joey Alarilla who authored it.
