During the SONA earlier this week, Pres. Arroyo proudly announces that she was able to convince the cellular companies to drop the rate of inter-network SMS down by half — from Php1.00 to Php0.50. What she failed to mention was that this an an orchestrated gimmick.
The first tie I heard about it on TV, I thought this lady still has enough clout to convince the telcos to drop 15% to 20% of their annual revenues just to please the masses. Now that’s like a huge, huge campaign contribution. What could she have offered in exchange for that?
In my last month’s entry at GMANews.tv, “There was a time when SMS was free“, I mentioned how it would be impossible for telcos to offer SMS for free and it was for purely economic reasons. Dropping the SMS rates is actually a welcomed move — IF it were permanent.
But no, it’s not even a system-wide rate change. One needs to register and pay as well as maintain a certain amount of load balance in order to enjoy this price cut. So yeah, I’d call this a dud.
The promo rate for SMS covers all mobile providers — Globe and Smart and Sun and their subsidiaries — and officially started last July 28. The promo will last until October and could be earlier depending on the bottomline.
Via a business perspective, I’d say the cellphone companies were the ones who demanded or asked for the additional requirements to avail of the lost-cost service. they won’t be able to sustain their business if they permanently pull the rates down. Of course, the government would initially push for permanent, no-registration-needed low-cost SMS, but having to consider the state that the companies would be in, they’d have to reach a compromise, or a consensus which will benefit the public and the companies at the same time. Thus, the registration protocol.
Also, in response to previous posts on expiration of load and just double the text message rates, I’d say perhaps we look at it at a broader perspective. SMS has become one of the most useful tools not merely in “can u be my textmate” scenarios” but most especially in government and business communication. Therefore, if you double the rates, the costs for these institutions will also double. On the other hand, if you decrease the rates, then it’ll help the economy of the country as a whole since it will significantly lower their costs. If you’re worried about load expiration, perhaps it’s something you should bring up to the companies and not leave the government to do something about it. The companies have their own complaints and suggestion sections to assist you.:)
First, before blaming anyone or pushing it all on the government, hope we all look at things thoroughly. Venues to express ourselves to the companies are available for use, and they should be the ones to assist you initially, not the government. Second, note that government does not dictate companies what to do, but collaborates with them on the best decision to execute. So, if you’re in the seat making the decision, don’t think about changing it all only to the public’s advantage.
:)