Are SMS rates really down to Php0.50?

Are SMS rates really down to Php0.50?
YugaTech Philippines, Technology News & Reviews bağlantısından yazan yuga
During the SONA earlier this week, Pres. Arroyo proudly announces that she was able to convince the cellular companies to drop the rate of inter-network SMS down by half — from Php1.00 to Php0.50. What she failed to mention was that this an an orchestrated gimmick.
The first tie I heard about it on TV, I thought this lady still has enough clout to convince the telcos to drop 15% to 20% of their annual revenues just to please the masses. Now that’s like a huge, huge campaign contribution. What could she have offered in exchange for that?
In my last month’s entry at GMANews.tv, “There was a time when SMS was free“, I mentioned how it would be impossible for telcos to offer SMS for free and it was for purely economic reasons. Dropping the SMS rates is actually a welcomed move — IF it were permanent.
But no, it’s not even a system-wide rate change. One needs to register and pay as well as maintain a certain amount of load balance in order to enjoy this price cut. So yeah, I’d call this a dud.
The promo rate for SMS covers all mobile providers — Globe and Smart and Sun and their subsidiaries — and officially started last July 28. The promo will last until October and could be earlier depending on the bottomline.