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Philippines: Operators and government differ on text pricing Print E-mail
Thursday, 12 June 2008

Transportation and Communications chief Leandro Mendoza has proposed the removal of SMS charges because SMS is considered a value added service and operators’ licenses only allow the collection of fees on voice calls.

The operators are opposed to the government’s proposed actions on SMS pricing, but they have expressed willingness to talk with the government about SMS charges. For instance, Smart Communications says it is willing to hold talks with the government to lower rates for text and voice calls.

Rey Espinosa, PLDT's head for regulatory affairs said the industry is coming out with its official stand on the proposal to make texting free as a means to help consumers cushion the inflationary impact of rising energy and food prices.

In a joint hearing of the House Committees on Information Communications Technology, Oversight and Legislative Franchises, the telecommunications operators claimed that the proposal would adversely affect their income and might result in poor service quality.

Text revenues contribute 55 to 60% of operators’ total wireless service revenues.

Source: Philippines News Agency and Thai News Service -  WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.

 

 

WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.