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

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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Avatar for Abe Olandres

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 considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

29 Responses

  1. Avatar for outtawatta outtawatta says:

    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.

  2. Avatar for akonaantok akonaantok says:

    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 ?

    • Avatar for tu9tifive tu9tifive says:

      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?

  3. Avatar for netsektor netsektor says:

    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.

  4. Avatar for bokoi bokoi says:

    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.

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