SMS Text Messaging in the Philippines, FREE?

    I forgot to mention yesterday on my blog posts the news that I heard/watch on a local TV news that afternoon at DZMM Teleradyo.

    What do you think about SMS Text Messaging becomes FREE in the Philippines? For us Filipinos, who contributed for our ‘award’ of being the Texting Capital of the World, it would be ‘the biggest gift’ to all of us! Imagine, having to live a life, which have always been connected "via text", where every ‘message sent’ is free?

    Wooh! Ang laking bawas na ito sa gastos lalo na ngayo’t nakakaranas ng kahirapan ang ating bansang Philippines! Wooh!

    So here are some full story which I read from the internet: 

    Source: BNCxe.org forum 

State considers plan to make cellcos offer free SMS

The Filipino government is considering a plan to force domestic cellular operators, which together currently carry more than 1.39 billion SMS messages per day, to offer texting for free. The Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza is quoted as saying: ‘Carriers should only charge for voice calls because in their franchise, they only pay for voice services. Text messaging is not really considered a [basic] service and should be free.’ The department is expected to submit a petition to the regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) calling on it to remove the charges on SMS messaging, even though it acknowledges that such a move will prove controversial and difficult to push through. However, Mendoza says something must be done to address the situation whereby the Philippines has one of the highest rates for mobile phone services in Asia.

    This is a very good news to us, especially to us consumers. Isipin na lang natin kung ilang milyong Pilipino ang nagtetext at nakakailang text tayo kada isang araw! Bawat text, piso. Ilang piso ang nakikita ng mga telcos satin? Kung mawawala to, yipeee! My Dad told me his opinion about this. Sabi nya, sa ibang bansa, libre ang texting. Mga voice calls lang ang may charge.

From BusinessWorld Online: 

 House supports Mendoza’s call to make SMS/text messaging free.

House Speaker Prospero C. Nograles said yesterday that the House of Representatives will review the congressional franchises of the country’s mobile communications service providers in response to the call of Transportation and Communication Secretary Leandro Mendoza to make the short messaging system (SMS) or text messaging free.

Mr. Nograles said that he will ask the House Committee on Legislative Franchises headed by Iloilo Rep. Ferjenel Biron, Committee on Information and Communications Technology chaired by Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago and Oversight Committee headed by Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez to scrutinize the legislative franchises of the country’s telecommunications companies engaged in mobile communications services to find out if they really are allowed to charge their customers for SMS usage.

"A habitual texter and is known to send his press statements and media comments via SMS texting has become a necessity even among poor Filipinos who rely on this technology for their day-to-day personal and business communication requirement," Mr. Nograles said…

 CONTINUE READING…

     Of course, FREEBIES always sound fun to our ears. A personal opinion though, I think that this news does have drawbacks and disadvantages.

    1. Like my usual SUN CELLULAR experience where there’s 24/7 unlimited texting and unlimited calls, networks get congested especially at peak hours where text messages gets delayed. Not only about minutes delayed, but mostly takes hoooouuursss of delayed.

    2. If I was able to make a Sun-to-Sun call during night hours, I consider myself lucky.

    3. If ever text messaging with be free, there’s a possible abuse. 

    4. Network Congestion. 

    5. Text messaging delays!

    6. And much much more. 

    7. There’s already "unlimited texting service" on telcos, why is there a need to make all of these things free?  

….

     This news sound good news at first read; lalo na ngayo’t kailangan natin ng mga paraan upang makapag-tipid lalo na’t ngayong maraming kahirapang nararanasan ang ating bansang Pilipinas.

    I don’t think that this free text messaging should be one of the primary talks the government should be discussing now. They should focus more on what’s the real scoops and issues in our country.

    What about others, what’s you’re opinion about this?