Globe wants cost of landline calls lowered

Globe Telecom on Monday called on the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to include landline services in its recent draft memorandum circular seeking to lower access charges in voice and SMS services. In a position paper submitted to the NTC, Froilan M. Castelo, Globe’s head of corporate and legal services, said lower access charges should also be applied to fixed line or local exchange carrier (LEC) services. "Otherwise, we shall see an absurd situation where it will be costlier to call on landline than on mobile," Castelo said. Globe is proposing a P2 reduction in access charges for LEC in the first year of implementation, P1.50 in the second year, and P1 in the final year. The current interconnection rate for landline calls is P3 per minute. "If indeed the government would want to see domestic rates go down, interconnection rates (for landline) should go down as well," Castelo said. Earlier, the NTC revived a proposal to reduce access charges for voice and text messaging, which would subsequently lower voice call and SMS rates in the country. Under the proposed memo, the NTC seeks to lower the SMS access charge to P0.35 on a staggered basis until it reaches P0.15 after three years. Voice access charges will also be reduced to as low as P1 three years after the draft memorandum circular is implemented. In principle, all three of the country's largest telecos agreed with the proposal, but each had certain reservations of their own. Globe, for its part, asked for a six-month reprieve before full implementation of the new rule in order to cushion the impact on its revenues. This will enable the telcos to restructure their business models and plans with the coming of the new pricing scheme, Castelo said. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), operator of Smart Communications Inc., asked the commission to reconsider the proposed rates on interconnection charges. Digital Telecommunications Phils. Inc. (Digitel), meanwhile, asked the regulator to look at international call access charges as well. The NTC is coming out with a final memo on access charges after Monday — the deadline for telcos and consumer groups to file their respective position papers. —JMT/VS, GMA News