|
By Sheryll B. Casanova
Text messaging would always be popular, no
matter what a new techno-logy promises to deliver. The country’s
cell phone subscribers, which have reached 12 million already, has
definitely a good reason why they stay loyal to text messaging, even
as they crave for the beauty of new technology such as the
multimedia messaging service or MMS.
“Text messaging is cheap. For only P1, I can
send a message to a friend and let him know that someone here
remembers him. Isn’t that cool?” a teenager said.
She said that MMS is really nice but the price
of the phone with MMS capability is already beyond her reach. “I
am a prepaid subscriber. How can a student like me enjoy an
expensive cell phone and pay for the monthly bills?” she asked.
MMS phones like the Nokia 7650 cost as much as
P30,000. This latest Nokia phone has a built-in camera, which
enables users to capture an image, and send it in a few minutes.
SMS is it
Although young texters are deterred by the high
cost of an MMS-capable unit and the subscription cost for MMS, some
yuppies, on the other hand, said they would go for MMS and be
“in.”
“I would definitely save money for an MMS
phone. I would like to have a phone that goes with the trend. It
would be fun to share photos with friends. If they have MMS phones,
I would also buy one,” said Fitz Gerald Caronongan, a bank
employee.
Globe Telecoms spokesman Jones Campos believes
that MMS would double the text usage of Filipinos. A proof to this,
he said, is the long list of orders for MMS-capable mobile phones
Smart has received.
At present, Globe is the only cellular service
provider offering MMS, which is only available for postpaid
subscribers.
Retailers at Harrison Plaza in Pasay City said
there really are customers looking for MMS-capable handsets, but
their fast-moving cell phones are still the GSM units.
“MMS phones are expensive and it is not
available for prepaid subscribers. We only sell GSM phones here.
Nokia phones have remained hot items, but there are also those who
buy other brands or the cheaper brands,” said a saleslady, who
requested anonymity.
Lavenia “Baby” Revilla, vice president for
Siemens IC Mobile Phones Division, said: “New phones have features
that, although are impressive in nature, may not be applicable in
our country, due to constraints in technology as well as the sheer
price of the phone units.” Revilla said Siemens’ answer to this
dilemma is its new phone, the M50, which “puts emphasis on meeting
all the aspects that local phone users require: Look, design and
user-friendliness.”
Evolving cell phone
The cellular phone has undergone a long process
of evolution: From the big, heavy analog mobile phones in early
’90s to the super-slim, features-packed GSM and MMS phones now.
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)
Eliseo M. Rio said MMS uses the so-called 2.5G techno-logy. He said
the local service providers are using this technology to improve
their services, since the 3G techno-logy already available in Europe
and most countries in the world would take time to hit our shores
because it needs a totally new and expensive infrastructure.
“What service providers do is they use the
technology at its most to provide value-added services to consumers
so they will have a continuous flow of revenues,” Rio said.
Rio believes that valued-added services would be
the primary growth driver for the cellular industry in the next
seven years.
Currently, the number of mobile phone
subscribers in the country today (more than 12 million) is being
shared by Smart Communications (together with Piltel, has a
consolidated subscriber base of more than seven million), and Globe
and Islacom (with 5.4 million subscribers).
|
