Wednesday, July 30, 2008 Tulabut: Reduced text rate By Noel G. Tulabut My Palm Notes
AT LEAST there is relief that could be immediately felt by the general public.
With the rising prices of almost everything these days, the announcement of reduction of cost of text messages to 50 centavos in PGMA's Sona was a welcome event.
I would say too that this part of the Sona could very well highlight the annual report to the nation. And with soaring prices, this one will be remembered for years.
Telecommunications companies also feel the pinch of skyrocketing prices, says Smart's Public Affairs Head Mon Isberto. But that does not mean the company will no longer strive to offer some forms of reprieve not only to its 31 million subscribers. This latest offering will also benefit clients of other telcos.
In fact, PLDT (Smart's holding company) top honcho Manny V. Pangilinan, in a roundtable talk we had with him last month, had already announced that the company will be coming out with more promos in order to participate in cost-saving campaigns that would benefit millions of Filipinos. This is one of those measures.
A text message to ever dependable Wo Rosete, Smart's media relations chief, confirmed that the reduction on the part of their company will be cross platform -- meaning, text messages sent from a Smart number to Smart, Globe and Sun Cellular will only cost 50 centavos. Effectively, the rates had been cut from P1.50 and P1.00 and they will stay that way up to October 22 this year.
Of course this is a trial run. And the government should also reward telcos for doing this, especially if they sustain it beyond the promo period. Maybe, the reward can come in the form of tax credit or tax holidays.
Why? In the case of Smart which processes about 800 million text messages per day, this promo would mean that it could lose a whopping P400 million per day too, if I am to base the rate at P1.00 per text on the average.
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Amid soaring prices of consumer goods, Smart continues to offer affordable but high-quality mobile services with the launch of the Smart Buddy "All Calls 20" promo.
With All Calls 20, 10 minutes worth of airtime costs only P20, equivalent to just P2 for every minute. These 10 minutes may be used to call any SMART or Talk 'N Text number. Subscribers also have the flexibility of consuming the allocated minutes however they want. The package, valid for one day, also comes with five free SMS to any SMART and Talk 'N Text number.
For even better value for money, All Calls 100 is also available. For just P100, a Smart subscriber may avail of 60 minutes worth of airtime, which could be used to call any Smart or Talk 'N Text number. All Calls 100 is valid for five days and comes with 30 free SMS to any Smart and Talk 'N Text number.
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Going back to Sona, businessman Rene Romero, chairman of Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon and president of Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry said "the only good news (in the speech) was the reduction of text rates to fifty cents."
Romero, not really an apple in the eye of PGMA, expressed his dissatisfaction on the performance of the Arroyo administration for the past year.
"Nothing new in the Sona, the poor will still have to scavenge for food to sustain their growling stomachs, the middle class will continue to disappear from the hierarchy of society and join the bloating lower class."
He also added: "Corruption will still be the norm in government. The Sona presented a very different perspective of the real state of the nation. Her justification of VAT as a means of poverty alleviation is ridiculous since the poor pay VAT when they buy food or pay their electric bills from the subsidies she claims to magnanimously give them."
"Long-term solutions to poverty alleviation or basic food subsidies should have been presented. She also claims to have curbed corruption (but we) have yet to witness a conviction in government."
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By the time this piece comes out, AUF Chancellor Emmanuel Angeles might have flown back to the country from Nepal.
While he was away, there were staggered news stories in national and local dailies about reports that Ched chairmanship being offered to the top educator and academician who once served as CDC president.
I am not surprised by that offer. Dr. Angeles is more than capable of serving as Ched chairman. With 55-year experience in the academe, 45 years of which were spent building one of the country's cornerstones and pillars of learning, he deserves to be appointed.
Dr. Angeles has built not only a university with a medical hospital. He has built one great institution that is significantly marked by professionalism and excellence.
With him being known as a builder and visionary, he could steer Ched to great heights and can put into place some programs and projects that would benefit the academe, the less-privileged studentry, and the whole country.
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Congratulations to Mr. Daesik Han, CEO of Widus Leisure International for finally having his Hotel Vida opened to the public after a long wait.
The Korean businessman has invested about P500 million for the first phase of his elegant yet affordable hotel inside Clark Freeport (at the former Forbidden City club).
Hotel Vida has finally (soft) opened with initial 30 classy rooms, along with its modern, luxurious and Zen-inspired SALT coffee shop which is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. This new resto has great ambience while the food is great, satisfactorily soothing the discriminating tastes of local and foreign guests.
