Telecoms

Why SMS rates are still not down to Php0.80?

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief April 17, 2012 · 1 min read

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Last year, the NTC has sent out a memorandum to all carriers (Globe, Smart & Sun) asking everyone to lower their regular SMS rates down to Php0.80 from Php1.00. It should have been in effect since November 30, 2011.

We first reported back in July 2011 where NTC ordered telcos to reduce interconnection charges from Php0.35 to just Php0.15. The difference of Php0.20 will be passed on to consumers effectively making regular SMS rates cheaper at Php0.80.

However, if you will notice in your postpaid bill or even when you check your load balance for prepaid, the going rates for regular SMS is still Php1.00 and not Php0.80 as mandated by NTC.

Well, as expected, all the telcos were resistant to the mandate. Nobody wants to follow the memorandum and cut back on SMS price. Remember it’s 20% of SMS rates which could translate to the same 20% in lost revenues from all SMS transactions.

Telcos argue that they are already offering unlimited text promos to consumer with SMS rates much lower than Php1.00.

If I am not mistaken, some of the telcos have even taken this to the court to fight NTC.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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57 Comments

outtawatta · 14 years ago

That’s just the way it is here. No one follows the law not even those whose duty is to enforce the law. It starts from the top and goes all the way to the bottom. From the president to the supreme court to the clergy the legislature and all the way town to the mmda crocodile.
Those who abide by the law and have personal conviction and follow the teachings of the bible are robbed, cheated and taken advantage of by the unscrupulous scoundrels.
No one in the Philippines is rich because they have done just and upright business.

akonaantok · 14 years ago

coming from an urbanized “province”, i see these people in manila on tv complaining about how “expensive” 1 peso is for a text, manila?? i’m in the province but i’ve never seen anyone complain how expensive 1 peso is for a text

ganyan rin naman yung rate noon pa mn aah, kun iisipin mu nga, mahal na nga yung piso noong 2000, yung sine 40 lang nung 2000, eh ngayun 120 pataas na, ehh yung load piso parin, bakit pa kayu nagrereklamo ??

gusto nyo kasi lahat ng gusto nyu ibibigay agad nang wala kayung ibibigay na kapalit, isip-squatters, hinihingi na nga lang ng mga telecommunications companies eeeh piso para sa isang text mo, suweldo yan ng mga libo-libong pinapagtrabaho nila at maintenance ng kanilang gamit, kayu may sini-suweldohan ba kayung libo-libong tao na dapat iba-baba yung load para sa inyu ?

at negosyo yan, hindi charity funds, kung may negosyo ka at binebenta mo sasakyan sa halagang 850,000 peso, at may tatawad ng 680,000, magpapa-uto ka rin ba at bibigay mo ng 680,00 ?? eh ang laki ng 5k, SAME PERCENT ANG BINAWAS KO SA EXAMPLE KO, 850,000 x 20% = 170,000 — 850,000 – 170,000 = 680,000 tulad ng 1.00 x 20% = 0.20 — 1.00 – 0.20 = 0.80 <<<

at bakit nag-rereklamo kayo kahit ang mura2x na nga ng piso?? anu ba kayu mag-text ?? kada minuto nagtetext kayu??
kung ganun bakit ?? uso pa ba sa inyu ang "textmate2x" ?? suuuus, ang baduy2x naman, nag-te-textmate2x pa!

at saka "government2x" pa yung pinag-tatapon nyung depensa, lahat nalang gobyerno, bakit di nalg kayo mag-trabaho ng mabuti para makabili ng load ?

tu9tifive · 14 years ago

Dude,

I have a different take on this. Since the Filipinos send about 1 Billion text messages PER DAY, a 20 centavo reduction means 200 Million pesos per day. Why not use those funds elsewhere, like education, job-generation, environment protection, national defense. Even if it turns out that the actual amount is just 10%..(20 million), that is still 6 Billion pesos a year…

We need to make it work…KASI SA TOTOO LANG PERA NATIN YUN E…KURYENTE NA LANG SAKA PASWELDO SA MGA TAO BINABAYARAN SA BAWAT SMS NA NAPAPADALA. ISANG CSR SA LOCAL TELCO MAGKANO SWELDo?

netsektor · 14 years ago

The NTC order is flawed, it’s for interconnection rates reduction only (inter-telco). NTC just ASSumed that it will in-turn reduce SMS rates.

Now, the telco’s can say uhmm yeah we have reduced interconnection rates already and uhmm thank you too since now we can gain more profits from the SMS switched between networks.

With my imaginative mind, I would think the NTC and the telco’s were in this plan all along.

bokoi · 14 years ago

lower the rates?? haha. what if they agree to lower the rates then abolish unlimited txt promos… with unlimited text offerings from telco companies, i would not care how much an sms is worth.

jigs · 14 years ago

really? as in umaasa kyo na maiimplement to? really…

neil · 14 years ago

SMC? you mean the mother company of wi-tribe? nah! wi-tribe is a crap..

Gian · 14 years ago

The NTC does not really have any power to enforce this. More so, I read that the fine for failure to comply with the rulings is just very small compared to what these companies may lose by reducing their rates.

showbiz · 14 years ago

(Just my opinion) If you want lower SMS then you should change your network to SUN Cellular. They offer TU200 which will give you 500 free SMS to other networks and unlitext sun to sun.

MRT · 14 years ago

Coz:

Gov’t has no balls, thus NTC has no power, Telcos have no conscience and have unsatiable greed.

They can’t justify the 1.00 charge, so they balk in reducing it by 20% to make it appear that they have a real high cost for SMS when in fact its sunk cost and just an add on feature. Before it was Php100/month unlimited texting already at Globe. If they can offer it then I don’t see why they can’t offer it now. Heck thay can even factor in inflation and charge 200/month unli text.

Hopefully when SMC enters the market, they come up w/ innovative services, priced attractively to disrupt the big players now.

NTC: Implement the law that allows subscribers to move between telcos but keep their old numbers, I’m sure this will really give the Telcos something to think about in their offerings and pricing.

Daniel · 14 years ago

This will cost Enrile’s popularity… Lower than 20%, I think? :P

simplynice93 · 14 years ago

I can answer that question with 2 words: “CORPORATE GREED”. NTC should revoke their franchises/licenses if they continue to defy this order.

hoy · 14 years ago

how about “CONSUMERS’ GREED” ? the SMS rate haven’t changed since the beginning of its conception, everything around had become expensive except the SMS rate, why not give them some award or something for not going along with the inflation?? telcos are offering unli promos, which by far is only available in the Philippines, are they getting praise from the public? no they get complaints because some people are too GREEDY, 1 peso is dirt cheap, STOP yelling poverty, when you can buy a cellphone and use the internet to post a complain about telcos.

and don’t give me BS about “this is for the Filipinos who are too poor to buy load” — if less-fortunate people don’t have money, they won’t buy load, they will buy food. <<PERIOD

nsmorado · 14 years ago

that’s the problem with our government… so many laws and yet kulang sa implementation.

JC dela Cruz · 14 years ago

Globe Telecom was complying.. but instead of 0.80, they charged 0.89 per SMS.

deuts · 14 years ago

Exclusive of VAT pa yan brod of 12%. So in effect P1.00 pa rin yan.

MALaroya · 14 years ago

same reason as to why the Chinese got away with their illegal cargo on Scarborough standoff, the government ain’t got balls. even our president doesn’t look like he’s getting laid

Monique · 14 years ago

Make the calls affordable para ang tao will use the facility aside sa texting.

Neil · 14 years ago

Mga taga NTC nagno-Noynoying. lol

Patrick · 14 years ago

Are SMS Value Added Services (VAS) included in the 20% reduction? Afaik, the discount was because of the lowered interconnection rate between networks. Now that it appears that there’s a 2-way rivalry in the market right now, I guess it’s more than enough to have this implemented right away.

If VAS are not included, then I guess the term “SMS transactions” should be labeled as “standard SMS rates” to prevent confusion.

Q · 14 years ago

i was wondering the same thing, kung bakit di na implement. siguro mahiba ang ntc o posible nag bribe ang telcos ng bilyon bilyon para manahimik ang ntc.

nasan na ang media para maungkat uli ang issue?

Anonymous · 14 years ago

becasue it was never Php1.00 to begin with. SMS should be free in the first place since it really has no cost to the telco provider when you use it since it rides the control channel, the channel that your phones use to notify you of incoming calls.

Ramillav · 14 years ago

It’s because the administrative agency NTC does not have the power to impose upon the tele companies how much they will charge, because the law wanted to deregulate the industry. Unfortunately, the free market economic principle behind the law is not functioning because there is no real competition since now, only two companies dominate the entire industry.

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