Finally, having cheaper internet is now within reach!

These were the words of Senator Imee Marcos as the Konektadong Pinoy Act lapsed into law.

This came after the Palace on Sunday announced that the measure, which seeks to broaden internet access, streamline licensing processes, and reduce connectivity costs, had automatically become law.

“Because of this good news, lower prices and better internet service are now guaranteed in the country. It is time to end the slow, expensive, and cumbersome internet in the country; it should no longer be a privilege for a few, but a service for all,” Marcos said in a statement in Filipino on Sunday.

The senator and presidential sister further stressed that more businesses will surely enter the country’s market because of faster internet services.

"No child will be late for class, no OFW will have their calls cut off, and no business will be left behind just because of the low internet access," she said.

Twenty-three minor and major business organizations earlier backed the passage of the law, but the country’s telecommunications players remain opposed.

PLDT of the MVP Group said it is considering challenging the constitutionality of the measure, citing potential discrimination against telcos that have invested heavily in upgrading the country’s infrastructure.

“You cannot ask us to open all our assets to your access and deprive our subscribers of the infrastructure that we built for them,” PLDT Senior Vice President and Senior Legal Advisor to the Chairman Marilyn Victorio-Aquino said in a virtual briefing on August 12.

In March, the Department of Information and Communications Technology maintained that the measure will address roadblocks created by outdated laws "that [have] stifled competition and innovation for years.”

Both houses of Congress ratified the Konektadong Pinoy bill on June 9.

Bills sent to the Palace for the President's signature face enactment or veto, but they may also lapse into law when no action is taken within 30 days of transmission.