Globe wants lower rates on calls from one network to another

By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes, The Philippine Star

Globe Telecom is proposing to bring down off-net call (from one network to another network) rates to levels that would approximate those charged for on-net calls or those made within a network.

Specifically, Globe wants to slash access charges or the fees that phone companies pay one another to complete calls by 62.5 percent to P1.50 a minute from P4 for domestic calls from landline to mobile and from mobile to mobile, and by 83 percent to 50 centavos a minute for mobile-to-landline and landline-to-landline calls from the present P3.

Globe has also recommended a 75-percent cut in termination fees on overseas calls to landlines at three US cents a minute from the present 12 cents and 56.25 percent in fees on overseas calls to mobile phones to seven cents a minute from the present 16 cents.

Globe president and chief executive officer Gerardo Ablaza said the international inbound termination rate should be brought down so as not to give significant opportunity for arbitrage by bypass or arbitrage operators.

"We believe that with retail rates on a downward trend, it is timely to reassess the current access fee structure. The current fees make off-net pricing obsolescent compared to on-net," he added.

Gil Genio, president of Globe subsidiary Innove Communications, added that while subscribers are enjoying lower retail rates for calls within the network, it is difficult right now to talk about lower rates for calls to other networks because of the current regime of high access charges.

"That is why we are also proposing a reduction in access charges for off-net mobile calls," he said.

He said that since rivals PLDT and Smart are separate companies, any calls made between the two should be considered off-network calls and charged the same access fees as those applied to other carriers, rather than as on-net calls.

Both officials said that off-net retail prices should approximate those of on-net prices which can only happen if the access charges do not differ significantly, whether the call is made within the network or terminating to another carrier’s network.