Inter-Network SMS Now P0.50 in the Philippines
By Rico, 9:09 am Wed Jul 30 2008 - Surveys - 1 Opinion
The other day during the State of the Nation Address, President Gloria Arroyo said that local telcos responded to her request to drop the cost of SMS in the Philippines to P0.50 per message sent between cellular networks.
As ABS-CBN reports, the NTC has promised that this lower price will last until this October. In the meantime, officials in Globe Telecom, Smart, and Sun Cellular will basically monitor the effect of the new rate on their bottom lines. Continue to see our thoughts on the matter.
As we see it, text messaging is the primary revenue source for telecoms in the Philippines. By its sheer volume, SMS services are easily the most widely used in the country today. This development can potentially lead to two scenarios:
The rate drop will extend to other kinds of SMS services. A lower inter-network SMS rate will allow mobile users to text more often, increasing the volume and actually generating more profit for the telcos. Enjoying this, telcos discount SMS across the board.
Telecoms will revert to the old rates after October. Or perhaps even earlier, claiming a detrimental effect to their bottom lines and ability to keep people employed. By branding the rate cut as a promo, local service providers are under no “obligation” to maintain the lower rates.
For you, dear readers, which scenario is more likely? Considering that increased SMS volume will put more strain on local cellular networks (and potentially add more to the telco’s operational costs), we’re kinda leaning towards the latter. Let us know what you think by leaving an opinion below! And feel free to propose a new scenario if ours doesn’t cover what you think will happen.
Thanks to Migs for the tip, image courtesy of ABS-CBN.
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