NTC seen to rule vs TXTPower on technicality
02/25/2007 | 06:00 PM
Telecom authorities said they may rule against telecom users group TXTPower on a legal technicality after talks to settle its complaint against Globe Telecom’s new rates for unlimited ‘text’ messages collapsed.
The users group is likely to see its petition for a rate rollback defeated because it does not have ‘legal personality’, said Lucio Espinosa, spokesman of the National Telecommunications Commission.
"They are not registered with the SEC, therefore, they have no legal personality," Espinosa said.
But the five individual complaints lodged by members of the group “can stand and could proceed to the public hearing," Espinosa said.
He said the commission has given TXTPower 10 days to respond to the motion to dismiss filed by Globe Telecom. "We will resolve first the motion but it is likely that the case will not prosper," he added.
The phone company moved to have TXTPower’s February 1 petition dismissed after the online organization on Friday rejected its offer of a new pricing option and took a hardline stance in negotiations.
Globe offered a new rate of P90 for 6 days unlimited ‘texting’ but the consumer group flatly rejected this. Txtpower instead asked Globe to completely revert to its previous unlimited text rates of P100 for 10 days.
"Txtpower was not amenable to our proposal," Globe Telecom spokesman Jones Campos told GMANews.TV in a phone interview.
TXTPower spokesman Anthony Ian cruz countered: "We rejected this because it would still mean a price increase. We did not want to give our imprimatur to a price increase."
The consumer group petitioned the NTC on February 1 to withdraw approval for Globe’s new rates launched on the same day. It claims the new offer doubles the rate for unlimited texting to P20 per day against P10 previously.
Meanwhile, Globe Telecom has applied with the NTC to approve the extension of its unlimited text promo for another month starting March 3. The promo is set to expire March 2. -GMANews.TV
The users group is likely to see its petition for a rate rollback defeated because it does not have ‘legal personality’, said Lucio Espinosa, spokesman of the National Telecommunications Commission.
"They are not registered with the SEC, therefore, they have no legal personality," Espinosa said.
But the five individual complaints lodged by members of the group “can stand and could proceed to the public hearing," Espinosa said.
He said the commission has given TXTPower 10 days to respond to the motion to dismiss filed by Globe Telecom. "We will resolve first the motion but it is likely that the case will not prosper," he added.
The phone company moved to have TXTPower’s February 1 petition dismissed after the online organization on Friday rejected its offer of a new pricing option and took a hardline stance in negotiations.
Globe offered a new rate of P90 for 6 days unlimited ‘texting’ but the consumer group flatly rejected this. Txtpower instead asked Globe to completely revert to its previous unlimited text rates of P100 for 10 days.
"Txtpower was not amenable to our proposal," Globe Telecom spokesman Jones Campos told GMANews.TV in a phone interview.
TXTPower spokesman Anthony Ian cruz countered: "We rejected this because it would still mean a price increase. We did not want to give our imprimatur to a price increase."
The consumer group petitioned the NTC on February 1 to withdraw approval for Globe’s new rates launched on the same day. It claims the new offer doubles the rate for unlimited texting to P20 per day against P10 previously.
Meanwhile, Globe Telecom has applied with the NTC to approve the extension of its unlimited text promo for another month starting March 3. The promo is set to expire March 2. -GMANews.TV
