| Telcos may extend cross-network SMS promo |
| source : staff | |||
| Thursday, 31 July 2008 14:38 | |||
|
In separate letters sent to the Office of the President, Smart Communications, Globe Telecoms, and Sun Cellular said they may extend their move to reduce fees on text messages sent between networks from P1 to 50 centavos if approved by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). Sun Cellular is implementing the reduced fees for a promotional period of three months. In its letter to the Palace, Sun Cellular said it would "continue to offer it beyond the promo period" in response to the "warm reception" of its clients. The reduced fees on text messages sent between networks was in response to President Arroyo's appeal to give relief to consumers in these times of high inflation rates. In her 8th State of the Nation Address (SONA), Arroyo said: "Texting is a way of life. I asked the telecoms to cut the cost messages between networks. They responded. It's down to 50 centavos." Press Secretary Jesus Dureza told reporters in a press conference Wednesday that telecom firms charge 12 centavos for each text message sent within the telecommunications network of each firm. But they charge P1 per text message sent between networks. Dureza said there is also a pending petition before the NTC which may reduce the base text fees of telecommunications firms from 35 centavos to 15 centavos per message. He said the government cannot impose its desire to lower fees on text messages since it is a matter that private business should decide. What the three firms did was to respond to Arroyo's "moral suasion." Dureza said he believes that "market forces" will compel some of the telecommunications firms to make the reduction in text message fees permanent since consumers will choose firms which offer the lowest fees. Make it permanent Consumer group TXTPower, meanwhile, on Tuesday challenged President Arroyo to order the NTC to make the P0.50 SMS charge permanent. Kim Gargar, a TXTPower convenor, said, "the P0.50 rate should be made permanent even if we all know that the cost is much lower. It will still provide a relief for the texting Filipinos. Otherwise, this is just one of the President's survival tactics, and does not prove any sincerity in helping the poor." The group also asked Mrs. Arroyo to order NTC to study the real cost of sending a text message as it cited that telecom companies are required to show the real cost of telecommunications services. "We challenge the President to order the National Telecommunications Commission to study the real cost of sending one text message, the impact of so-called interconnection fees and the slapping of the 12-percent VAT [Value-Added Tax] on text messaging and calls," said Anthony Ian Cruz, TXTPower president. The group said President Arroyo is "trying to cheat the public over the so-called 50 percent reduction in texting rates which she pompously announced in her eighth State of the Nation Address." "The truth is, text messages may already cost less than 50 centavos. The forward march of mobile technology and the gigantic profit rates for the past years have lowered the cost of sending text messages to absurdly low levels, far lower than P0.50," said Cruz. The consumer group also said that given the "promo pricing" offered by the telecommunications companies such as Smart, Globe and Sun, "the real price of texting may be 100 text messages for just P1.00 and may even be cheaper if VAT and inter-connection charges are removed." The group said that the P1.00 charge and the P0.50 "promo" charge do not reflect the "true price of text messaging."
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