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THE
Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC)
has directed the National Telecommunications Commission
(NTC) to find ways to lower telecommunications services,
particularly voice and short message service (SMS),
after a plan to abolish text messaging rates was widely
criticized by industry players.
In a
deregulated environment, the NTC cannot compel phone
companies to reduce the fees they charge to consumers.
In
response to the letter it received from Secretary
Leandro Mendoza of the DOTC early this week, the
commission said it will issue on Friday two proposed
policies setting a cap on access charges or the fee paid
by a carrier for every minute of call or text message
that passes through the network of another carrier.
If
implemented, the rates currently imposed by phone firms
on voice calls and text messages will further go down.
“We
received a memo from the DOTC concerning the lowering of
communication costs. We were also directed to hold
public consultations and we will, next week. The draft
rules will come out tomorrow, Friday,” said NTC director
Edgardo Cabarios at the sidelines of a forum sponsored
by the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc.
The NTC
plans to set a cap on the fees which are bilaterally
negotiated upon by two interconnecting parties. The
access charge for SMS is pegged at P0.35 per text, while
access charge for voice call is between P3 and P4 per
minute. Under the present setup, landline operators pay
mobile-phone firms P3 while cellular firms compensate
fixed-line operators P4 every minute.
“The
plan is to put a cap. I cannot say exactly how much
until the draft rules are out. But we are looking at
imposing a cap, maybe more than 10 percent lower than
the current access charges,” said Cabarios.
The NTC,
said the official, expects carriers to oppose this move.
Cabarios said the agency is ready to face this. “We are
ready. They cannot question our authority because
nothing in the law prohibits us from setting a cap. We
are not setting the rates. Carriers will still negotiate
among themselves the access charges. What we are
proposing is that we only set a limit,” he said.
Section
18 of the Republic Act 7925 provides that the access
charge or revenue-sharing arrangements between all
interconnecting carriers shall be negotiated between the
parties and the interconnection agreement shall be
submitted to the NTC.
The only
time that the NTC steps in is when the parties fail to
arrive at an interconnection agreement within the
prescribed period of time.
The NTC
explained that retail prices include interconnection
charges if a call or text message is sent from one
network to another network. For calls or text sent
within the same network, the retail price is lower.
“So, if
the interconnection charge is low, the retail price is
low and lower if the call or text is within the same
network. The retail price or fee for text within the
same network may almost become free if the
interconnection rates are set at minimum prices,” added
Cabarios. |
