NTC issues new rule on mobile phone billing

MANILA, Philippines - The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued yesterday a memorandum circular that reduces the maximum unit of mobile phone call billing, whether postpaid or prepaid, from one minute to only six seconds per pulse.

The rate for the first two pulses, or the so-called “flagdown rate,” however, may be higher than the succeeding pulses to recover the cost of the call set-up.

Cellular mobile telephone service (CMTS) providers, under NTC Memorandum Circular No. 05-07-2009, were asked to submit to the commission their respective proposed rates both for the flagdown and the succeeding six second pulses within 30 days from the effectivity of the new circular. 

The existing unit of billing for mobile voice service is based on a one minute or 60 seconds per pulse. This means that even if the call is just for 10 seconds for instance, it is still charged as a minute. A 90- second call under the old regime is billed as two minutes.

But the NTC said subscribers may still opt to be billed on a one minute per pulse basis or to subscribe to unlimited service offerings or any service offerings if they actively and knowingly enroll in the scheme. International call services are not covered by the new circular and will thus still be charged per minute.

The NTC added that interconnection agreements between CMTS providers and between the latter and other interconnecting network and service providers shall be amended to incorporate the new prescribed unit of billing also within 30 days from the effectivity of the new circular.

MC 05-07-2009 also provides that CMTS providers and their interconnected network and service providers shall perform the necessary adjustments in their respective networks and systems to comply with the prescribed unit of billing not later than 120 days from the circular’s effectivity. 

The NTC issued the new rules after the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 77 dismissed the complaints filed by Isla Communications and Pilipino Telephone Inc., as well as the complaint-in-intervention filed by Globe Telecom and Smart Communications that questioned an old NTC circular, (No. 13-6-2000), that provided for a change from the one-minute pulse rate regime to six seconds, as well as for an extension in the validity period of prepaid loads, and service performance standards for CMTS.

The court said that considering that NTC MC 13-6-2000 which is the subject of the cases has already been withdrawn or recalled by the NTC and that the issues and controversies brought about by its issuance have already been mooted, the cases before it had to be dismissed.

In its motion to dismiss filed with the QC RTC this week, the NTC said the due to the rapid development of telecommunications technology and the unprecedented changes of conditions in the industry from the date the case was commenced to the present rendering the provisions of MC 13-6-2000 obsolete, the commission issued an order recalling the said MC.

Prior to the dismissal of the cases, the NTC had already issued several circulars covering some of the matters included in the old MC, such as the extension in the validity period of prepaid loads, as well as the new service performance standards.

NTC commissioner Ruel Canobas also pointed out that there was no opposition filed by the telco operators to the motion to dismiss filed by the commission.

For his part, NTC Deputy Commissioner Douglas Mi-chael Mallillin said that the six second pulse rate is based in international best practices, and that it would be easier for telcos to migrate their software from one minute to six-second pulse billing than to the three-second pulse earlier being contemplated by the commission.

Meanwhile, the NTC issued Memorandum Order 08-07-2009 that clarified certain provisions of the new rules on broadcast messaging services under MC 04-07-2009.

The clarificatory circular seems to have pacified a group of value-added service (VAS) providers who earlier asked the RTCs of Pasig and Quezon City to stop the implementation of MC 04-07-2009 that among others prohibited the use of “push” text messaging as a form of advertising of value added services (VAS). The group withdrew their petition for a temporary restraining order.

The NTC clarified that it will only disconnect the content or information providers’ access to the networks, systems or facilities of public telecommunications entities only after due notice and hearing.

The commission added that after the subscriber has completed his act of subscription, the delivery of the subscribed content or service shall no longer be deemed a push message, and therefore not covered by the prohibition. As to the requirement that public telecommunications entities and content and/or information service provider follow a common platform, NTC explained that the platform simply refers to a common information or data platform.

It also pointed out that while the rules provide that commercial and promotional advertisements, surveys and other broadcast message shall be allowed only upon prior written consent by the subscriber, this should be interpreted to mean consent manifested through other means such as text messaging, internet, or other similar means of communication.