With having internet becoming more and more of a necessity with the shift to home-based schooling and work, choosing your service provider based on what you need and how much your budget is more important than ever. For some people though, the option isn’t there because of their landlord or condo developer forcing them to only one provider. If you’re in this position, you can complain to the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) as this is what residents of a Mandaluyong condominium did.
PCC recently charged Greenfield Development Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary Leopard Connectivity Business Solutions Inc. for exclusively supplying fixed-line internet to residents of Twin Oaks Place in the Greenfield District. Twin Oaks Place residents were said to only be able to subscribe to the in-house provider Leopard.
The residents complained to PCC and said they were not able to get alternative ISPs “despite Leopard’s higher prices, slower speed, and unreliability of internet connection.” The Statement of Objections was filed on December 29, 2020, but the commission only made the charges public on Monday.
For PHP 2,699/month Leopard reportedly offers 20Mbps, while for PHP 3,500/month it offers 40Mbps. According to the agency, the residents could’ve gotten 50-75Mbps and 100-150Mbps, respectively, with the same price from other ISPs.
The Enforcement Office of the agency alleged that Greenfield and Leopard “abused their dominance as Twin Oak Place’s property developer and fixed-line internet provider by preventing the entry of other ISPs to provide their services to residents and limiting the market to Leopard as sole ISP, in violation of the Philippine Competition Act.”
“Under the Philippine Competition Act, an entity found to have abused its dominance in the market could face a fine of up to P110 million,” said PCC Chair Aresenio M. Balisacan in a statement.
Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.
