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Thursday, July 17, 2003
PLDT soon to charge for directory assistance
STARTING October, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) will charge P3 for its new directory assistance system called the Enhanced Directory Assistance Services (eDAS) or the Call 187.
Call 187 would replace the 114 directory assistance number, which is currently available to callers free of charge.
The new service uses the system called Varetis, which provides an advanced database needed for directory assistance service.
PLDT head of Computerized Directory Assistance Service Operators Service Raquel Tanchico said Varetis is comparable to the systems used in other countries like Singapore, Germany, Spain and the United States.
She said if PLDT does not stop using the present 114 system, its database would collapse and it would not be able to integrate all its information services.
She also clarified that PLDT is not implementing Call 187 to make money.
PLDT would charge P3 per two inquiry listings, and not on a per-minute basis, Tanchico said.
If a caller wanted to inquire about only one company or individual subscriber, then the charge would still be P3.
More data
She said unlike the 114 service, Call 187 is capable of providing additional information such as email addresses, websites, office hours of business establishments, and other cross references.
The new system also has a call connect feature wherein the live operators of Call 187 may connect callers directly to their desired number.
The call connect feature has an additional charge of P2, and there is still no time limit for the person making the call, Tanchico said.
Teletipid and telephone coin box users can also avail themselves of the new service at the same rate, but there is no call connect feature, she said.
Tanchico admitted that PLDT expects some negative reactions from its clients.
People, she said, are not used to paying for their directory assistance calls. But the company would still give its customers an option because PLDT would still continue to provide free telephone directories to residential and commercial phone line subscribers.
The National Telecommunications Commission, the regulatory body of the telecommunications industry, has already approved the rates proposed by PLDT. AEL
(July 17, 2003 issue)
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