NTC asked to defer hearings on per-pulse scheme

Smart Communications, Inc. has asked regulators to defer hearings on the new per-pulse charging system for mobile calls in deference to a pending case at the Court of Appeals. In a motion, Smart asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to suspend an earlier order forcing mobile networks to shift to the new six-second charging scheme. The per-pulse scheme does not change the per-minute rates of mobile calls, but calls under a minute will cost much less. Smart and its rivals have asked the appellate court to stop the regulator from enforcing what it claims is an illegal scheme, but the court had not issued a temporary restraining order. In its plea to the NTC, Smart said suspending the hearings would also "save the effort and time of everyone since the proceedings in this case may be declared void later on." The per-pulse billing system, first proposed but quickly shot down in 2000, was revived by Senator Juan Ponce Enrile last year to improve mobile phone service. After discovering that none of the local players had complied with the new rule, the NTC issued a show-cause order asking all companies to explain their defiance. The commission also threatened to revoke the firms' franchises. GMANews.TV