The argument around this issue is that home/office internet subscriptions are time-based. The subscriber pays for access to the internet for a month, for example. A certain amount of money is prescribed, depending on the bandwidth one subscribes for. Along the way, the customer is faced with countless downtimes, which go uncompensated. In essence, the customer paid for service not delivered. I have had my fair share of this menace, and when I asked my ISP, the response was that if the service remains unavailable for more than 24 hours, then I should file a case with them for a refund. The point is, I may not get a complete cycle of 24 hrs downtime, but I may have 10 hrs today, 16 hours next week, and even 20 hours another week. Cumulatively, I could lose almost 3 days in a month, but I cannot get compensated since no one instance lasted for 24 hrs. Even with this provision from the ISP, the customer is highly disadvantaged, and mostly uninformed that there is such a provision. With the recent increase in remote working, these downtimes would cost one so much, especially those working from home, and upon such occurrences, they are required to procure the mobile data bundles that are usually expensive compared to fixed wireless services (that expense is on top of the monthly subscription). Are there regulatory measures in place to ensure that the customer gets exactly what they have paid for, or is it a case of a free market where the customer is at will to dump one ISP for another in such instances? If yes, do we then need the regulator to also enlighten the consumer of the existence of such regulations that protect them, and how they can best utilize them to ensure that they get value for their money? Most customers have no idea that there is anything they can do about it, other than picking a different ISP as a punishment for the non-performing one. While competition could be seen as a way to ensure ISPs provide quality and reliable services, some areas have only one ISP, operating as a monopoly, and the issue of competition doe not apply. As we champion digital inclusion, we must ensure that we have meaningful connectivity, which means, good quality and reliability of the services offered.

Regards,