Is NTC making it harder for poor Filipinos to own smartphones?

• Photo from Pixabay

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is proposing tighter rules on secondhand and refurbished smartphones, raising questions over whether additional requirements could make affordable devices more expensive and harder to access for lower-income Filipinos.

Secondhand and refurbished phones provide consumers with a cheaper alternative to brand-new devices. But the proposed NTC framework would impose additional requirements on their importation, dealership, accreditation, labeling and sale.

The NTC presented the proposed memorandum circular during a public hearing on Sept. 23. Refurbished devices would have to be properly documented, legitimately sourced, NTC type-approved and untampered before they can be imported and sold.

“The public hearing presented the proposal to allow the importation and sale of NTC-type approved and untampered refurbished mobile phones, tablets and similar devices,” the NTC said. The devices would also have to be boxed under the brand of an authorized entity and sold with a one-year repair or replacement warranty.

The proposed safeguards are intended to address concerns involving stolen, illegally acquired, tampered and defective devices.

But mobile phone dealers and resellers are already regulated by the NTC.

Memorandum Circular No. 08-08-2004A gives the NTC authority to regulate the purchase, sale, lease and retail of mobile phones. It requires mobile phone dealers and retailers to secure the appropriate NTC permits or registration and regulates where dealers may source their devices.

The proposed framework would therefore add more specific requirements for the secondhand and refurbished market, including documentation, accreditation, labeling, grading and warranty requirements.

While these measures could provide consumers with greater protection, compliance requirements may also increase the cost of doing business for legitimate secondhand phone sellers. Whether those costs would eventually be passed on to consumers remains unclear, as the NTC has yet to provide an assessment of the proposal’s potential impact on prices.

For millions of Filipinos looking for an affordable way to own a smartphone, that impact may ultimately determine whether the proposed regulation provides greater protection or creates another barrier to digital access.