CELLULAR phone industry leader Smart Communications Inc. on Tuesday issued a statement taunting its rival, Globe Telecom Inc., to “compete” and not to “complain” to authorities.
Cell phone companies should focus on competing effectively through innovative services rather than filing complaints with regulators, Smart spokesperson Ramon Isberto said in a statement.
“With our various all-day texting promos, we have found innovative ways to meet our subscribers’ demand for flat-rate SMS packages without sacrificing the quality of our network service,” Isberto said.
“That’s what Globe should do, instead of filing complaints with the National Telecommunications Commission that aim to deny our subscribers the very real benefits of our 25/8 offerings,” Isberto pointed out.
“The real competition is for the hearts and minds of subscribers — it’s not in the legal arena. They should come up with their own services that offer real value to their subscribers. In short, compete, don’t complain.”
Globe Telecom had earlier asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for a cease-and-desist order against the “All Day Texting 258 Call+Text Promo” of Smart and its Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel) unit, saying these promos constituted predatory pricing.
Under the scheme, Smart and Piltel subscribers who avail themselves of the promo can send an unlimited number of text messages and make a single five-minute voice call to other Smart and Piltel subscribers in a 24-hour period for a fee of only P20.
Isberto said Smart’s lawyers were handling the legal issues.
“What is undeniable is the fact that our 25/8 promos genuinely benefit our over 21 million subscribers,” he said. “To stop the promos would do them a great disservice.”
Last year, in a ruling on third-player Digitel Mobile’s “24/7” program, which offered unlimited within-network calls and text messaging, the NTC said the popularity of the program “reflects the appreciation that consumers have options that enable them to shop for and choose the price-quality package that might best suit their needs.”
link:
http://business.inq7.net/money/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=6984
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for those that dont know, Globe had reccently filed a complaint against Smart and piltel’s (talk n text) 25/8 text promo with 5 min call
“In a letter filed earlier this week, Globe Telecom asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to put an end to the “All Day Texting 258 Call+Text Promo” being offered by Smart Communications Inc. and Pilipino Telephone Corp
In implementing these promotional offerings only between the two, [Smart and Piltel] are acting in concert to corner the market and thus create a virtual monopoly, said Rodolfo Salalima, Globe senior vice president for corporate and regulatory affairs.”
Smart has replied earlier saying they could not be accused of predatory pricing since they are using the same network
“The charge of predatory pricing is not only unmeritorious but is outright absurd in the light of the facts that are fully disclosed to the Honorable Commission and even the public in general,” Smart’s lawyer Ivy Plaza-Cortez said in her reply to the NTC.
She said that because Smart and Piltel use the same cellular phone network, it is impossible for them to be “interconnected” or to levy access charges from each other that would put them on level pricing terms with competitors
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