NTC orders telecom firms to submit SMS records

THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Tuesday ordered mobile phone service providers to submit all short messaging services ( SMS) records of their subscribers charged P1 since December last year.

“The documents are very important before we make any decisions on the issue, so we can proceed with the hearings,” Dennis Babaran, director of the legal department of the NTC said.

In December last year, the regulator issued separate show cause orders against Smart Communications Inc., Globe Telecom and Sun Cellular for failure to lower SMS rates by at least 20 centavos, despite the issuance of Memorandum Circular 02-10-2011 lowering the interconnection charge from 30 centavos to 15 centavos.

The circular took effect on November 30 last year. The telecommunications firms were likewise ordered to preserve and submit all SMS records of subscribers charged P1 per SMS sent since December 1.

Smart, Globe and Sun were required to submit a weekly report to the NTC as to the total quantity of SMS charged P1 per SMS commencing from the said date. The NTC issued the order due to mounting complaints that the companies continued charging P1 per SMS.

The NTC’S One-stop Public Assistance Center conducted a series of tests by using prepaid mobile numbers from the three telecommunications companies to verify the complaints. In separate position papers, Smart, Sun Cellular and Globe said that there was no directive from the NTC to cut the rates of their SMS or text messaging by 20 centavos.

The telcos said the circular clearly refers to interconnection charges and not the retail rates for SMS.

“The imposition of SMS retail rates is anti-competitive as it seriously impairs the ability of PTES [public telecommunication entities] to offer the market with pricing schemes that will suit the requirements of different sectors of the market, and thus defeats the healthy competition,” Smart said.

In a bid to comply with the directive of the government to lower the cost of SMS, Globe said it would offer a permanent promo of 80 centavos per text to all networks.

“This offering, which effectively translates to a rate of P0.80 per SMS, is in effect a substantial compliance with the supposed, albeit unwritten and non-existent, intent of the questioned circular to lower the regular retail text rate from P1 to P0.80,” Globe said.

Because of this, Globe said, “the show cause order ought to be of no force and effect for being moot and academic.”