Globe ordered to cease imposing new SMS rates

The National Telecommunications Commission on Wednesday slapped a cease and desist order against Globe Telecom after it defied a previous directive from the regulatory body to revert to old rates pending a public hearing on its new pricing scheme on mobile phone text messages. “Pending resolution of the case on the merits, Globe is hereby directed to restore the previous unlimited text promo…, and to cease and desist from implementing its new unlimited text service," the NTC said in a three-page order. "Globe is directed to show cause in writing within 15 days from receipt of this order why it should not be administratively sanctioned for violating the directive of the Commission for it to hold in abeyance the implementation of its new unlimited text promo, and to restore the previous unlimited text promo," the regulatory body added. The commission said that it will hand down a decision if Globe does not submit a reply in 15 days. The NTC en-banc has called for an initial hearing on the case this Friday at 2 p.m. The NTC said that based on tests it ran Tuesday, Globe did not comply with an order released Monday to suspend the new unlimited text service. Globe keeps new rates The cellular firm's network still carried the 'Unlimited Texting' offer and did not restore the previous 'Unlimitxt' service. Last February 1, Globe announced that the company's four-day Unlimitxt now costs P80 for four days (P20 per day), compared to the previous charge of P50 for five days (P10 per day) of the old Unlimitxt. The new promo also includes options for day time unlimited texting which stretches from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and costs P10, and nighttime unlimited texting which also costs P10 and covers 10 p.m. to 7:59 a.m. of the following day. Group urges boycott Consumer group Txtpower on Wednesday called for a boycott of Globe Telecom services starting February 8. "Consumers should make their power known to Globe and like-minded corporate scum who disrespect consumers and who defy the law," the group said in its website (www.txtpower.org). Globe spokesman Jones Campos said that before calling for a boycott, Txtpower should hear out the telecom firm's reasons for coming up with a new unlimited texting service. Campos disputed Txtpower's assertion that the new rates for its prepaid unlimited text service was a "rate hike". "How can you compare the promos and say there was a rate hike? They are two entirely different things," Campos said. "Technically, if they really want a rollback, then we should rollback to P1 per text message because that is the real price of one message," he added. -GMANews.TV