|
By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has rejected the
application of Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprise Inc.
(CURE) to raise 3G (third generation) service rates, citing the
agency’s memorandum circular.
In an order, the regulator pointed out that the
approved rates for 3G have a lock-up period of up to two years from
the date it started operations as provided under memorandum circular
no. 07-08-2005 or the Rules and Regulations on the Allocation and
Assignment of 3G radio frequency bands.
NTC said the circular specifically stated that,
“the schedule of rates shall be the maximum rates that can be
charged within the first 24 months from start of commercial
operations which shall not be later than 30 months from date of
award of the 3G radio frequency bands.”
Cure started commercial operation on June 28,
2007, after Smart Communications Inc. bought the company from Ongpin
family-led PH Communications Holdings Corp. and Francom Holdings
Inc, which hold a 96.57-percent and 3.43-percent stake,
respectively.
Smart, a unit of Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co. (PLDT) acquired CURE for P419.54 million.
CURE’s old rates were approved by the NTC in
2005. Its mobile phone brand ümobile has been renamed Red Mobile in
November last year.
In the same month, PLDT’s new subsidiary
applied for an increase in its service rates, citing soaring
inflation and foreign exchange rates.
CURE said it would like to charge P20 a minute
for its international direct dial (IDD) from the earlier
P10-a-minute rate approved by the regulator.
“Although [the] peso-dollar exchange rates
have gone down over the years, CURE’s forecasted decrease in IDD
costs due [to] international VOIP [Voice over Internet protocol]
technology did not materialize, hence CURE’s IDD termination
costs, to be paid to IGF [international gateway facility] providers,
remain high,” CURE said in a petition filed before the NTC last
year.
The telecom company said it has to adjust its
rates due to its national roaming arrangement with Smart.
Under the current rates, CURE said it would turn
in a loss, as it pays P2.80 a minute to Smart for national roaming
and P9.50 a minute for IGF while the proposed rates, on the other
hand, would yield positive revenues to support its operations.
For value added services (VAS), CURE would
charge P50 a download from P0.10 a kilobyte for music clip and P50
an access from P0.05 a kilobyte for network gaming and streaming
data.
“Due to technology trends, competitor pricing
and the public’s demand to be charged per download or access of
VAS services, CURE would like to change its charging principle from
per kilobyte to per download or access,” the company said.
For browsing or data access, CURE would charge
P20 to P30 a minute from P0.05 kilobytes.
“Due to competitor pricing and the public’s
demand to be charged time-based for mobile Internet browsing/data
access, CURE would like to change its charging principle from per
kilobyte to per 30-minute interval,” it added.
The telco also wants to charge P10 a minute for
video calls and P1 for short messaging service (SMS) or text. For
international service, SMS would be charged P20.
For multimedia messaging service, CURE plans to
charge P5 for local and P25 for international services.
|
