Telcos: No such thing as free SMS, not even in the US

While willing to discuss text rates, telecommunications companies are balking at a recent announcement that government wants to make text messaging free, saying this implies that telcos were unduly pricing the service when they were not.

"Reports have cited Verizon, a major US mobile carrier, as offering 'free' text messaging. A check with the Verizon website shows that the service being offered is not 'free' text messaging but unlimited text messaging. The unlimited SMS offer is part of their monthly service plans, the lowest priced of which costs US$59.99 or roughly P2,400 a month," Smart Communications Inc. spokesman Ramon Isberto said in a recent statement.

Unlimited text messaging is already available in the Philippines, he added.

"SMS rates in the Philippines are already among the lowest in the world. While the standard rate remains P1 per message, Philippine operators, including Smart, now offer many different text and call packages that have drastically reduced the effective price of SMS from 10 to 20 centavos per message or even lower in the case of unlimited text packages," he said.

Globe Telecom Inc. SVP Atty. Rodolfo Salalima agreed in a separate statement.

"While we do not take it from government to feel their concerns for the mass public, we need to sit down together (to discuss rates).... In Australia the cost per text is P2.4, in Malaysia P1.07, in China P1.55, in Taiwan P4.25, in Europe it ranges from P15 to about P25," he said.

As for lowering text rates, Salalima said the price of one text message was now only about 13 centavos because intense competition has driven telcos to offer promos.

He added that there was a public service aspect to the service, and if telcos were forced to make it free despite the heavy investment required to cope with data traffic and to improve quality of service, then text messaging may not be sustainable.

Digital Telecommunications Phils. Inc., operator of the Sun Cellular mobile brand, likewise said that text messaging was already very cheap in the Philippines.

"The fact that it is being contemplated to make it free or lower prices implies there is an impression that it is expensive. But in fact we are among the lowest especially when we count the promos. Of course, we can discuss this better if we get a formal policy or statement from government," Digitel SVP William Pamintuan told reporters recently.

But the NTC said it has already come up with twin circulars proposing to trim charges not only for text messaging but for voice calls as well. It has also announced that it will hold a public hearing about the proposed rates this week.

NTC wants to slash the access charge (also known as the interconnection charge) for text messaging between different operators (Smart to Globe, Sun to Smart, etc.) to 15 centavos from 35 centavos. This would put the charge at par with the current 15-centavo access charge for two brands using the same network (Smart to Talk n' Text, Globe to TM, Sun to Sun).

NTC believes that cheaper access charges between networks would drive down the price of text messaging from the nominal rate of P1.

As for voice calls, NTC wants access charges for off-network activity (Smart to Globe or Smart to Sun, and vice-versa) to go down to P1.50 from the current P4.

Telcos have declined to comment on the specific rates, saying they have not received a copy of the circulars. By Riza T. Olchondra - Philippine Daily Inquirer

Nograles eyes lower texting service rates

HOUSE Speaker Prospero Nograles yesterday assured the public the House of Representatives is giving priority to lowering the cost of telecommunications in the country at least during these difficult times.

In a statement, Nograles appealed to telecommunication providers to repay the subscribers who have given them billions of pesos in profits by lowering the cost of their services.

The Speaker said the Lower House is dead serious on rationalizing telcos operations in the country in order to bring down the cost of communication services particularly “texting” that is putting additional strain on the day-to-day budget of Filipino households.

Nograles has already instructed the House committee on Information and Technology chaired by Rep. Joseph Santiago to revisit Republic Act 7925, otherwise known as the Public Telecommunications Policy Act of 1995.

The move aims to find out possible amendments to bring down the cost of telco services particularly texting, which has become an essential communication tool among Filipinos including the poor.

Nograles said that RA 7925 may have “spoiled” the telcos with the removal of the 12-percent ceiling on return of investment and the 3-percent franchise tax on gross receipts which he said, could have made the costs of telco services more reasonable.

“The removal of the cap gave telecoms too much discretionary opportunity to maximize profit as they prey on the eager Filipino texters,” he said.

Based on estimates, Nograles said that texting in the Philippines should be only at 25 centavos per text or should even be made free.

Nograles also asked Santiago’s committee to review a measure filed during the 12th Congress which would compel telcos to stop overcharging their customers on the so-called “per-minute” basis on voice calls.

Mobile phone service providers should only charge their subscribers on “per six seconds of usage” and should be compelled to issue billing statements even for pre-paid subscribers, Nograles said.

The practice of telecoms companies of charging their subscribers on a per-minute basis instead of the actual length of calls should be considered as a business malpractice and this should be immediately corrected, the Speaker added. By: Jester P. Manalastas - Journal online

Yahoo offers free texting service for Pinoy users

INTERNET giant Yahoo Inc. will introduce new features today for its free Web-based e-mail service, including the ability to send text messages directly to cell phones.

The service, which will take up to six weeks to roll out, will initially be available in the Philippines, the United States, Canada and India, the company said.

“We’re giving you the right way to connect at the right time with right person,” said Yahoo vice president John Kremer, whose two preteen sons vastly prefer text and instant messages to e-mail.

Yahoo doesn’t charge for sending and receiving text messages, but mobile phone users may be charged fees by carriers that provide their services.

Yahoo’s PC-to-text service seems to compete directly with the services provided by Philippines-based Chikka.com, but it was not immediately clear what impact it would have on the local company.

The changes to Yahoo Mail come amid fierce competition among providers of free, Web-based e-mail services. Yahoo and Microsoft Corp.’s Hotmail have long dominated the niche, but Google Inc.’s Gmail has grown quickly since its introduction in April 2004.

In February, Yahoo announced that it would provide unlimited storage space, and earlier this month Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said Hotmail would increase free storage from two to five gigabytes. Time Warner Inc.’s AOL, the fourth largest e-mail provider, began offering unlimited storage last summer. Google provides nearly three gigabytes.

Sunnyvale-based Yahoo bills the changes as the most significant overhaul of Yahoo Mail since its launch in 1997. The new version replaces a one-year-old beta program and adds new features, including text messaging, a more comprehensive e-mail search engine and an easier to read and edit contacts database.

Yahoo is making its upgraded service available to the 254 million users of its e-mail service as it competes with rivals Google and Microsoft for “eye balls” that can be parlayed into advertising revenues.

Improvements include making the service faster and enabling users to have instant message conversations with people using Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger service.

The new version allows users to click on a contact and then select whether to send that person an e-mail, instant message or text message. You could send an e-mail or instant message if you know the recipient is at the computer—or a text message if the recipient is on the road with a cell phone.

“This gives people the ability to reach anybody in their contact database anytime,” said Michael McGuire, vice president of research at industry analysis firm Gartner Inc. “For good or evil, it’s going to be much easier for anybody to get a hold of you.”

Users who do not want the upgrades—or whose computers are too slow to handle them—can opt to remain with the current version, which Yahoo will call “Classic.”

“Consumer inertia is a powerful force,” McGuire said. “You are not going to get everybody wanting to learn the new one.”

McGuire said the enhancements add value to Yahoo’s e-mail.

“These are all important features they have to keep adding to the platform in the face of Hotmail, Gmail, or whatever,” McGuire said.

“But this is more than keeping up with competitors. They have added value.” AP and AFP