All prepaid load now valid for 1 year

MANILA, Philippines — All prepaid loads, including those with denominations below P300, will now have a one year validity as telcos Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. announced yesterday their full compliance with a joint memorandum circular issued by three agencies.

In separate statements, Smart and Globe said all prepaid loads would have a validity period of one year starting yesterday following a six-month extension given to them by the government for loads with denominations below P300.

“Smart, TNT and Sun prepaid loads now have a validity period of one year. This includes all load denominations of Smart Prepaid, Smart Bro, TNT, Sun Prepaid, Sun Broadband Wireless Prepaid, Smart Link, Smart Marino, PLDT Prepaid Landline Plus and PLDT Home,” Smart said.

“All Globe prepaid load, including those with denominations below P300, will carry a one year expiration period,” Globe said separately.

Both companies said development completes their compliance with the Memorandum Circular 05-12-2017 issued jointly by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Since Jan. 6, Smart and Globe started implementing the one year expiration period for prepaid load worth P300 and above.

Prepaid loads worth below P300, however, were given a six-month extension to give telcos time to adjust their systems.

“We thank the government for giving us enough time to perfect this implementation and ensure the best possible experience for our customers,” Smart said.

“We are grateful to the NTC, DICT, and DTI for giving us ample time to prepare for the smooth and seamless implementation of the extension of the expiration period across all denominations,” Globe said.

The extension in the expiration period of all prepaid loads is part of government efforts to protect the rights of consumers in the telecommunications industry.