Globe allows calls to pre-paid subscribers

Globe Telecom finally agreed yesterday to allow calls to its prepaid cellular subscribers using the touch cards of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and through the latter's "109" operator-assisted service.

The decision came after the National Telecommunications Communication (NTC) moved to settle the issue which has been going on since Globe introduced prepaid mobile phone cards a year ago.

The NTC stressed that Executive Order 59 mandates that the networks of various carriers should be fully interconnected to allow calls from any party to pass through.

Globe Telecom had refused to allow operator-assisted calls from PLDT to its prepaid cellular phone subscribers allegedly due to some technical and commercial problems.

Likewise, holders of PLDT touch cards could not reach any Globe customer although they could be used to call the other four local cellular phone providers.

Both PLDT and Globe initially denied the allegations when first confronted about them but later on confirmed the situation.

A source, earlier, said that the reason why Globe has not opened the connection with PLDT is because the revenues it collects from prepaid subscribers is lower than the amount it has to pay PLDT, thus, the company will not earn anything from the set-up.

With operator-assisted calls, interconnecting parties split the charge based on a 30-40-30 arrangement -- 30 percent of the amount goes to the sending party, 40 percent to the network which handles the call, and 30 percent to the receiving party, practically giving PLDT 70 percent of revenues from calls to prepaid cards.

Of the more than one million subscribers of Globe Telecom, over 70 percent are using prepaid cards.