Vanishing load mystery deepens

Manila, Philippines - Members of the mobile value-added service (VAS) industry yesterday denied being responsible for the diminishing load of prepaid phone subscribers.

“We categorically deny that value-added services are the reason for the so-called vanishing load issue. It is impossible for VAS providers to cause vanishing load as we do not have the ability to deduct load from subscribers,” said John Alonte, G-Gateway Mobile Phils. Inc. chief executive officer and spokesman for the VAS group.

The group has sent an appeal to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senators Mar Roxas and Ramon Revilla Jr. to defer the implementation of the memorandum circular by the National Telecommunications Commission banning push messages and other contents from being sent to subscribers. The memorandum will take effect July 23.

The group wants the memorandum circular deferred or recalled until the investigation by the Senate into text spams and push messages is completed.

VAS members also belied allegations that they are the ones sending text spams to millions of pre-paid subscribers.

“We likewise reject the insinuation that we are the root cause of text spam. The MC (memorandum circular) will not stop text spam because those generally originate from prepaid mobile phones and are outside the control of the NTC,” the group said. 

Alonte said the “NTC indiscriminately bans all push messages – whether legitimately subscribed to by mobile users or not.”

He said the ban also covers news content, one of the most relevant contents and among the most subscribed by mobile phone users. 

This content is delivered to subscribers via push message, Alonte added.

“This MC provides an absolute ban on all push messages, including legitimately subscribed content such as the one described, causing revenues to drop to zero overnight,” he said.

VAS already has 43 companies, including music recording firms such as PARI, that signed the appeal.

Alonte said VAS members will meet tomorrow with NTC executives to ask them to allow content providers to come up with a regulatory body in the next weeks.

“We just want a regulatory body within our ranks,” he said.