Press Release
December 15, 2009

Enrile: telcos are the ones misleading the public

Reacting to reports that telecommunications giants ignored an order by the National Telecommunications Commission directing them to refund subscribers after failing to comply with the new "per pulse" billing scheme for mobile subscribers, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile today said that the Telcos, particularly Globe and Smart, should be reprimanded for their insistence to mislead the public.

"There was never any agreement for the Telcos to market the new billing scheme as a choice for the public to consider. Why should we dial additional digits if we want to avail of cheaper rates?" Enrile said.

Enrile was referring to Globe's advertisement informing the public to dial 232 plus 10-digit Globe number when making Globe-Globe calls, and 803 plus 10-digit Touch Mobile number when making TM-TM calls.

"Dapat diretsong dial, wala nang 232 o 803 o kung ano pang numero na dapat pindutin para lamang makatipid sa load," Enrile explained.

"Ang mga tao, naghihirap na kaya nga gumawa kami ng paraan para mapagaan ang kanilang gastusin na hindi na sila kailangang mag-isip pa kung paano sila makakatipid. Bakit kailangang pumili pa sila eh ayan na nga, pinababa na ang presyo ng load?" Enrile angrily asked.

"They should show us a permit given by the NTC to these Telcos allowing them to implement the 3-digit additional numbers otherwise they should follow the show-cause and cease-and-desist orders of the NTC" Enrile said.

"Giving subscribers an option of paying higher or cheaper rates by being billed either per pulse or per minute is just the Telcos' way of circumventing the NTC's ruling" Enrile declared.

Enrile further said that "to accuse the NTC of rate-fixing via the six-second pulse billing system, it is the Telcos who are misleading the public, making it appear that it is the regulating body that is burdening cellphone users with additional costs."

The Senate President was reacting to comments made by Smart saying that requiring them (the Telcos) to apply the six-second pulse billing system as the default billing regime is in excess of the jurisdiction of the NTC and is tantamount to rate-fixing.

The NTC earlier took the telecom firms to task for ignoring the agency's memorandum circular telling companies to switch to a billing system that charges for every six-second pulse, instead of the prevailing per-minute billing. Under the memorandum, Telcos were told to comply for network-network calls last Dec. 6, while the new billing for interconnecting calls to other networks will be implemented on Dec. 16.

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