Free text messaging may force firms to cut service

MANILA, Philippines - A proposal to make text messaging free may force companies to eliminate the service since it will no longer be profitable to maintain it, an industry source told GMANews.TV. Since free text messaging will be subject to abuse, the source said that it will affect networks of telecommunications companies, reducing their efficiency and resulting in service degradation. “If you make it free of charge, companies will not be encouraged to invest in the business because it will not be profitable. Eventually, the service may no longer be available," said the source. The source was reacting to a spate of new reports which exhorted mobile phone companies to cut their text messaging fees to P0.15 from P1, as indicated by a proposal recently raised by a female legislator. Telecommunications companies “can agree to either reduction or the scrapping of the charges. Either way, the main beneficiaries here will be our people who deserve all the relief they can get," Bulacan Representative Ma. Victoria Sy-Alvarado said. The female administration lawmaker also said that it is “better for the telecom firms just to reduce the charge than lose altogether the income they derive from SMS." “The telecom firms have earned so much from their 25 million subscribers since SMS began in the early 1990s. It’s time they give back to the people who are having difficulty coping with the spiraling prices of oil and basic commodities," she said. Although she acknowledged that that telecommunications industry is one of the biggest sources of government revenue, Sy-Alvarado emphasized that the welfare of the people should come first. Earlier, Speaker Prospero Nograles hinted that the House of Representatives may amend the franchises of telecommunication companies if these fail to provide free text messaging. However, the source said that the matter remains a “non-issue." “As long as the government has not filed a petition to cut text messaging or make them free, there is no issue," the source said. The source added that mobile phone companies have not been remiss in their responsibilities to make rates lower. “The industry is already very competitive," said the source, adding that with current unlimited text promotions, a text message now costs P0.13 to P0.15. - GMANews.TV