NTC orders telcos to explain delay in reduction of text messaging rates

MANILA, Philippines - The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has directed the country’s three leading cellular mobile telephone service (CMTS) providers to explain the delay in the reduction of interconnection charges on text messaging.

The commission specifically ordered Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, and Sun Cellular to explain in writing within 15 days from receipt of the show-cause order why, despite the issuance of Memorandum Circular 02-10-2011 lowering the interconnection charge from 35 centavos to 15 centavos, they still have failed to lower, as a necessary consequence, the regular rates for text messaging by at least 20 centavos per SMS.

Smart said in a statement that they wish to reaffirm their position that the company has fully complied with the NTC’s memorandum circular lowering SMS interconnection rates between carrier. “It is also worthwhile to point out that SMS is a deregulated service. In any case, the lowering of the interconnection charges enables Smart to offer more attractive SMS service packages ranging from premium and regular SMS to bucket and unli plans,” it pointed out.

The company added that competition among the carriers has produced very affordable service offers that have already reduced the effective per SMS rate to around 10 centavos per text message.

The telcos were likewise ordered by the NTC to preserve and submit all SMS data records of all subscribers charged P1 per SMS sent containing details such as: SIM number, date, quantity of SMS per date from 12:01 a.m. of December 2011 until such time that the commission requires.

In the meantime, Smart, Globe and Sun were required to submit a weekly report to the NTC as to the total quantity of SMS charged P1 per SMS commencing from the said date.

The show-cause order dated December 12, 2011 was issued following monitoring conducted by NTC’s One-Stop Public Assistance Center (OSPAC).

In an affidavit executed by OSPAC head Froilan Jamias, it appeared that on various instances from Dec. 5-9, 2011, OSPAC received various complaints through email and phone calls from several short message service (SMS) subscribers stating that the three SMS providers were still charging P1 per SMS sent to another subscriber of a different SMS provider.

Acting on the complaints, OSPAC conducted a series of tests by using prepaid mobile numbers from the three telcos. An SMS/text message from each prepaid mobile number was sent to the other two providers, and it was established that all of those mobile numbers decreased in call/text credit by P1, the NTC said.