Saturday, September 11, 2010

The consumer is king, thanks to competition



Consumer Post

By SOL JOSE VANZI
August 21, 2010, 3:46pm
Competition is one of the best things about democratic capitalism. In the Philippines, nothing illustrates this better than the benefits enjoyed by consumers as a result of liberalization in the field of telecommunications.
There are many of us still around who remember the bad old days when owning a telephone was a status symbol. It was very difficult to get a phone line; applications were known to take six to eight years before approval, if one was lucky.
The most numerous ads in the newspapers’ classified section were those that offered “telephone lines for sale” and the price varied depending on location. Some telephone lines had been known to have sold for P10,000 in hard-to-reach areas. So valuable were phones that heirs had been known to quarrel over telephone lines left unassigned by their departed parents.
The scarcity of telephones was worse outside Manila. Journalists covering events in the provinces had to go to telecom company offices, such as the private PT&T and the government BUTEL (Bureau of Telecommunications) at the post office to send telegrams or make long distance calls to Manila.
By the late 1980s, new telephone companies were allowed to operate, and the entire country was partitioned into franchise areas assigned to be serviced by different telecom outfits. Telephone poles were set up and landlines were strung throughout the archipelago. Immediately, the advertisements for telephone lines disappeared.
By the year 2000, telephone company agents were knocking on everyone’s doors offering telephone lines for extremely low monthly rates. Tents bloomed at parks and special events, all offering instant telephone connections, later even throwing in wireless telephone instruments.
All hail the consumer
At last, the consumer is treated properly. No more waking up in the morning to find the phone disconnected with not a single warning. These days, real human beings call telephone subscribers to inquire and remind about outstanding phone bill balances. The telephone company reps I have encountered have been polite and well-spoken. I ask for their names and call them back after I pay my phone bill and I get the feeling they do manually see to it my phone does not get disconnected.
Telephone linemen, who used to take days to respond to cable problems, now show up almost instantly. And they even phone again the next day to check if the problem has not recurred.
The most recent pleasant change was when a PLDT lady phoned me to acknowledge that their records reflect a payment I made at an SM Bayad Center two days before. At the same time, she reminded me of the balance remaining and the deadline for settling it.
More services and bargains
Competition has also forced the telephone company to offer better, cheaper services. For a minimum flat fee, I get 30 minutes free long distance calls, via IDD (International Direct Dial) to many countries, saving me thousands of pesos a month. I get the same deal for domestic NDD (National Direct Dial) calls to provinces and cities serviced by PLDT. The third service I am subscribed to allows me to call any Smart cellphone, and talk for as long as I want, for R9.90 per call.
Landline cellphones
I carry a second cellphone that has a landline SIM. It costs me a couple of hundred pesos per month, billed with my home landline. My family and friends can call that phone from their landline and reach me wherever I am, and it is not going to cost them anything. And I can phone their landline from anywhere for nothing. Since many of my friends also have landline cellphones, we’re really beating the system and have cut our cellphone bills in half.
Here comes cable TV rate war
In the beginning, there were two: HOME and SKY cable TV companies. When they merged, I sensed doom and higher monthly fees. I was right. From an initial P300, we are now paying close to P800 monthly for the basic subscription.
My neighbors are looking into the offerings of the latest players, who are not literally cable, but offering the same services. They are not cable because they are wireless, and claim that their services will not be disrupted by typhoons and brownouts. Their rates? P250-P450 per month.
Unfortunately, I have no choice but to stick to SKY, which is the only company that telecasts ANC and DZMM Teleradyo,  stations that are vital for us journalists in monitoring breaking news and special events. Sayang!
Published in Manila Bulletin August 21, 2010.

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