3G: Globe delays hike, Smart has new rates

3G: Globe delays hike, Smart has
new rates

GLOBE Telecom will keep existing rates for 3G (third-generation) mobile- phone services for another month, while rival Smart Communications Inc. will start charging on June 16 video calls at 2G rates, company officials said.
       In an interview, Globe head of consumer business group Ferdinand de la Cruz said the cellular firm will extend until end of June the 3G rates charged to postpaid and prepaid subscribers.
       The rates for video calls are the same as local Globe-to-Globe voice calls which are pegged from P3.50 to as much as P6.50 per minute depending on the plan.
       Overseas video calls to Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Hungary, Luxembourg and Poland cost $0.40 per minute.
       Video streaming for local content is still free of charge. High-speed Internet browsing via GPRS and EDGE will be charged at a regular rate of P0.15 per kilobyte.
       "We have received enthusiastic response from our subscribers on our affordable rates where 3G services are available at just 2G prices," said Globe head for wireless business planning Patricio Pineda.
       When Globe launched its 3G service on April 30, it said it would assess the 3G charges after a month.
       "With our simplified pricing structure, we are offering 3G services at 2G pricing levels to break the misperception that 3G is expensive," said de la Cruz.
       Meanwhile, beginning June 16, Smart will be charging for its video call service, which will be priced based on the existing air time rates for 2G voice calls.
       For prepaid subscribers, video calls will be charged from P5.50 to P6.50 a minute. Postpaid subscribers, depending on their subscription plan, will be charged from P4 to P6.50 per minute of video calls.
       "The 2G voice rates provided for post paid and prepaid subscribers will apply to video calls starting June 16," said Mon Isberto, spokesman of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the parent firm of Smart.
       Smart's 3G customers can also make international video calls for the price of a regular IDD call at $0.40 a minute to eight 3G operators in six countries. These include NTT DoCoMo in Japan, CSL, Smartone and Hutchison in Hong Kong, Starhub in Singapore, Chunghwa in Taiwan, Vodafone in Germany and Mobilkom in Austria.
       Meanwhile, video calling on international roaming will remain the same as international roaming voice rates for both outbound and inbound roamers.
       All Smart 3G video and audio streaming applications, including live TV viewing, will be charged a P15 access fee for every 30 minutes based on running time.
       Smart's 3G network has over 800 cellular sites covering 119 cities and municipalities nationwide. The company said 250,000 of its 20 million subscribers—approximately one in 100—have 3G-enabled handsets.
       Globe, for its part, said over 100,000 of its 13.6 million subscribers—or close to two in 200—now have handsets that are 3G-capable. It has admitted that this number is unlikely to increase until the price of 3G-enabled handsets drops. Lenie Lectura

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0601/comp05.php