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THE
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) will let
industry stakeholders propose the fee the regulator
should charge handset manufacturers and suppliers for
every mobile phone that will be registered with the
commission.
“In the
revised draft that we are preparing, we did not indicate
how much the sticker will cost. Rather, it will be up to
the manufacturers and other groups to propose a fee
which they think is fair, reasonable and acceptable,”
said commissioner Ruel Canobas on Monday.
The NTC
has formed a technical working group (TWG) to come up
with another draft memorandum circular on the
registration of cellular phones offered for sale to bear
NTC type-approved stickers.
The TWG
will be headed by director Edgardo Cabarios of the
common- carrier authorization division. He will be
assisted by NTC legal head Abigail Santillan.
“As part
of NTC’s continuing efforts to strengthen regulatory
measures relating to the cell phone business and its
related activities, a TWG was created. The TWG will
assess the various position papers submitted by the
different parties during the first public hearing in
February,” said deputy commissioner Jorge Sarmiento.
The TWG
is expected to submit to the NTC chief its draft
circular within the week.
Early
this year, the NTC proposed a regulation requiring
stickers for every handset offered for sale in the
market. Handset manufacturers and suppliers must
register new and used units for P75 each, regardless of
the make, type and model of the handset. This is on top
of the existing P1,700 registration fee that
manufacturers already pay the NTC for every handset set
for release.
The
proposal, however, was opposed by mobile-phone firms,
cellular- phone manufacturers and dealers.
There
are already two stickers located at the back of the
handsets. The NTC’s 2001 circular, for instance,
provides for the attachment of a tamper-proof sticker on
each mobile phone. There is also a sticker for each cell
phone with bluetooth capability.
The
industry stakeholders said the proposed P75-sticker fee
is too high and the primary purpose of the draft
circular does not address its purpose, partakes of a
tax, and is a mere rehash of existing circulars issued
by the NTC.
Nokia
and Sony Ericsson said in their respective position
papers that the proposed imposition is burdensome to
legitimate importers and sellers of mobile phones as it
would ultimately be borne by the consumer, thus
hindering the delivery of telecommunications services.
Globe Telecom and Smart Communications Inc. said the
planned regulation is a consumer burden, a rehash of
existing circulars and tantamount to taxation.
Globe
head for regulatory affairs Froilan Castelo said grave
doubts surround the actual implementation of the sticker
registration.
With
only 12 regional NTC offices, Castelo said individuals
who want to sell their cellphones will have to travel
long distances to have their handsets registered. While
this is a valid concern, the NTC said it will implement
measures, such as “licensing and registration on
wheels,” to see to it that individuals wishing to
register their cellphones will not have to travel.
The NTC
said, however, that since the registration fee covers
only the cost of regulation, then the imposition is not
a tax. It said the proposed measure is not redundant and
unnecessary, as it is aimed at enhancing existing NTC
circulars.
After
the first public hearing, the NTC tried to revise the
draft circular. The NTC agreed that the proposed
P75-registration fee, if passed on to consumers, will
increase the prices of the mobile phones. But the
increase, it said, is minimal considering that the
handset prices ranging from P3,000 per unit to tens of
thousands of pesos.
“These
concerns have been addressed in the second draft. The
proposed sticker fee is P25 instead of P75 and that the
new sticker replaces all other stickers required under
existing rules,” said Cabarios. |
