Telcos urged to give free text service this Christmas

MANILA, Philippines - Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile yesterday urged local telecommunications companies (telcos) to provide free text messaging service to their subscribers on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Enrile also said telcos should make up for the delay in reducing text charges by providing free limited texting service.

A limited-only free SMS service from Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31-Jan. 1 will appease millions of mobile phone users who have been expecting lower SMS charges since end-November but continue to pay the full amount, he said.

Enrile said revenue losses telcos will incur from free text messaging service for two days will not cause a dent on the huge revenues these companies are raking in from customers.

“We are calling on the generosity of Smart, Globe and Sun Cellular to give the Filipino public the gift of being able to communicate with their loved ones who are away from home for free – even just for Christmas and New Year,” Enrile said.

“Besides, this will do little to offset the excess collections that these companies made as they delayed the implementation of NTC’s (National Telecommunications Commission) directive to lower SMS rates starting Nov. 30,” he stressed.

The NTC has announced that it is studying the possibility of filing lawsuits against Smart Communications, Globe Telecom and Sun Cellular for their failure to reduce interconnection charges for text messaging to 80 centavos per text message from P1.

For the holidays, the NTC has required telecommunications firms to maintain their unlimited call and text services from Dec. 23-26 and from Dec. 30-Jan. 2.

Enrile said telcos could use this opportunity to showcase their generosity and appreciation for their customers’ loyalty by going over and beyond NTC’s call by providing free text messaging services.

He said providing free SMS service during the holidays would go a long way in improving the image of these telecommunications firms, which have been widely criticized for their defiance of the NTC order to reduce SMS interconnection charges.

“Allowing people to send free text messages to their family and relatives – especially those working abroad – during this Yuletide season will be a great CSR (corporate social responsibility) project for these companies. And it would do well to improve how they are perceived by their own customers,” he said.

During the May 2010 election campaign, Enrile’s father, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, promised voters that he would work to reduce mobile phone call and text messaging charges. Telco fees, however, have remained largely the same.

In previous elections, Sen. Enrile ran a campaign anchored on a promise to work for the reduction of electricity rates.

Power rates in the country have not gone down and have in fact gone up significantly and are now the highest in Asia and among the highest in the world.