And the Telecom War is on...

[silver_corolla]

The more the merrier. Better for us consumers

Correct.

[mazdamazda]

Simple lang ibig nyang sabihin bro, he's talking about "tri-poly" wherein an industry (CMTS) with only three (3) firms competing with each other. Ngayon kung dalawa lang sila eh di "duopoly" kapag isa e di "monopoly". It's a simple as counting 1... 2... 3...

lemme rephrase my statement:

so by agreeing that Sun is aiming to be a part of the "tri-poly", you are confirming that Globe & Smart are a virtual cartel right now?

now it ain't as simple as counting from 1-3.

[silver_corolla]

I agree with markus but not with you.

Easy as that.

[CaRGirL]

enough! personalan na to ah.

[MAXBUWAYA]

Pilipinas "Txting Capital of the world"

Para sa smart at globe ito any isang opportunity para kumita. Dahil nga naman mahilig tayo sa txt. Kaya panay din ang nga ad nila about family ties ek-ek. They make us feel warm and cozy sa mga ad nila. Para bang sinasabi na kapag tumawag ka ay mapapakita mo ang pagmamahal mo sa pamilya hehehehe. Paking siyet talaga ang mga ad ng smart! Puro artista! kaya ang mahal ng service eh! at nagkalat ang mga banner nila na nakasabit.

Guys lately madaling tumwag sa SUN napansin nyo?

[ILuvDetailing]

Easy lang mga tsong.

[CaRGirL]

Pilipinas "Txting Capital of the world"

Para sa smart at globe ito any isang opportunity para kumita. Dahil nga naman mahilig tayo sa txt. Kaya panay din ang nga ad nila about family ties ek-ek. They make us feel warm and cozy sa mga ad nila. Para bang sinasabi na kapag tumawag ka ay mapapakita mo ang pagmamahal mo sa pamilya hehehehe. Paking siyet talaga ang mga ad ng smart! Puro artista! kaya ang mahal ng service eh! at nagkalat ang mga banner nila na nakasabit.

Guys lately madaling tumwag sa SUN napansin nyo?

oo nga at nabawasan na din mga delayed text..

pati sa cust service, isang tawag lang meron kagad sasagot na cust service rep...

IMPROVING!!

[OTEP]

One try lang ako kay Djerms kanina connect agad.

[ILuvDetailing]

Aba maganda 'to, improving na service ng Sun.

[Renelmac]

i guess, they are improving na nga, now nadadalian na ako mag-connect and max txt to other sun users, but i think its just balancing out, nahahabol na ng sun yung services nila with their customer base, marami rin kasing umaalis from them, their growth has been great, hopefully it keeps is that way, i believe tayo ring consumers will profit from it GO SUN!

[cyberdoc95]

Remember ninyo when CEBU PACIFIC first came out? The same scrutiny as to how the Gokongwei GROUP's CEBU PACIFIC could ever have cheap airfares to operate the company compared to the skyrocketing prices of PAL. And yet, the company has been operating well, have been profitable and sustained growth even after a disastrous crash a few years back. Cebu Pacific clearly has redefined domestic air travel by offering daily flights with cheaper airfares. Similarly, the SUN CELLULAR claims that they have different business model to get some savings and at the same time would attract new users by introducing a revolutionary offer(NAKS!!) that these GIANT TELECOMS are afraid to do since malulugi sila if they are going to offer the same.

After reading all the pessimistic reviews(regarding future increases in prices) of SUN CELLULAR, I guess they are all qualified but unsubstantiated since they are presumptions. But then again, if one of you have saved at least P1,000/month from your bill, that's already P12,000/year savings even if this 24/7 offer ay hindi talaga tatagal. Ok na rin, di ba? Saan ka ba makakapulot ng P12,000 sa kalsada? Although presumption din ang ginawa ko but at least, I based it on the current data that one already have started saving every month since the 24/7 started.

Sabi nila: "ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS!!", ang sagot naman ng mga tao is: "OF COURSE, I'LL ENJOY IT. At least nag-eenjoy ako sa savings keysa wala."

[CaRGirL]

[SIZE=2] ...and SUN does it again!

i called SUN cust care this AM about the GPRS settings and on the first ring, i got a CSR! yay!! and i was not disconnected during the call... yay!! again [/SIZE]

[IceColdBeer]

Relax! We all know naman ang common aim ng mga co's na ito is to gain more subs. How can a newcomer like Sun be able to penetrate the market shared by Globe and Smart? Easy! And that's what Sun did, lower their cost or shall we say almost gave away their service.

OT: I heard the Gokongwei's will be building a mall bigger than SM's "Mall of Asia". They call it "Little Malate" ;)

[mazdamazda]

'Sun' upsets celfon giants? Dats good 4us subscribers

POSTSCRIPT By Federico D. Pascual, Jr.
The Philippine Star 02/17/2005

MONOPOLY OGRE: I am not a Sun Cellular phone subscriber, but I welcome this small company's offering cheap, unlimited 24/7 text and call service among users of its system.

As a rule, monopoly is bad for consumers. We need not prove that all over again.

In the booming cellphone business ruled by the giants Smart Communications and Globe Telecom, a small player that bucks the system stokes consumers' hope of lowering rates, improving the service and cutting down the arrogance of dominant players.

Our minimum expectation as cellphone users is that Sun's brash entry will force Smart and Globe to lower their rates. Indications are that the two big operators are beginning to feel the pressure as subscribers continue to migrate to Sun.

That is good, di po ba?

* * *


NTC HEARING: But instead of allowing market forces to operate freely, the giants Smart and Globe have asked the National Telecommunication Commission to step in and stop for them the pygmy interloper.

The NTC did the right thing in not granting their crybaby plea and instead scheduling a hearing next week. There is no urgency, no emergency, to justify an instant order for Sun to desist.

This is one case where the subscribing public should play jury to the hilt and pressure government to maintain a liberal pro-consumer attitude.

Let the people, the consumers, themselves resolve the issues.

If Sun's rates and services are acceptable to the public, let them be. If they are unacceptable or are injurious to public interest, subscribers themselves will dump Sun without NTC having to step in.

If Sun is guilty of any violation, Smart and Globe or any aggrieved party should just sue it without having to cry all over the place.

* * *


PREDATORY?: The No. 1 issue raised against Sun is that its 24/7 unlimited service smacks of "predatory pricing" since other telecom firms, they claim, would be priced out of the market. The 24/7 promo is allegedly a bait to lure Smart and Globe subscribers.

If dissatisfied subscribers of Smart and Globe find the terms of Sun more favorable to them, who are we to stop them? Why should we think for them?

It is ridiculous to accuse a small-time operator like Sun of predatory pricing.

The term refers to "an anti-competitive measure employed by a DOMINANT company to get/protect market share from new or existing competitors." It involves temporarily pricing a product low enough to end a competitive threat.

From this definition, Sun cannot be accused of predatory pricing for the very obvious reason that it is not a dominant carrier. In fact, it is the smallest player in the market now with less than 5 percent share.

* * *


BULGING BILLIONS: Of some 33 million cellphone subscribers nationwide, Smart has cornered more than 19 million (59 percent), leaving 12.5 million (36 percent) to Globe and a measly 1.5 million (5 percent) to newcomer Sun.

As for their NET income, Smart earned P16 billion in 2003 and P11.6 billion in the first six months of its fiscal 2004. Globe netted P10 billion in 2003 and P12 billion in 2004.

While the two giants were busy counting billions in net profits the past two years, Sun has been reporting losses.

These eye-popping figures were among the reasons why the cash-strapped administration initially wanted to slap the telecom giants a kind of windfall tax as part of President Arroyo's eight-point crash revenue program.

Timely lobbying with Malacanang nipped the budding revenue measure, sending the rest of us mortals a reminder of the power of money and monopoly.

* * *


SLOPPY SERVICE?: Another accusation hurled at Sun is that it covers a smaller area and has a high frequency of dropped calls and that sending text messages through its system is difficult.

Its detractors say that for every 100 Sun subscribers who try to make a phone call, only 38 are able to make a connection. To make matters worse, the calls of Sun subscribers are reportedly cut off after 15 minutes.

I have no technical study in my hands to confirm or debunk that, but my hunch is that it could be true to some extent.

Sun has been operating for less than two years only compared to Globe and Smart that have been in the business for more than 10 years now. This could explain the disparity in their coverage and capacity.

Sun has more than 1,300 cell sites versus Globe's more than 3,000 and Smart's more than 4,000 nationwide. To close the gap, Sun says it is spending $200 million to expand its capacity to accommodate six million subscribers.

Whatever it is, if subscribers are not happy with Sun, they will leave it without prodding from anyone.

OT: saan daw ilalagay yung little malate? AFAIK, may project ata sila sa Clark.

[IceColdBeer]

OT uli, no exact details pa pero yan ang info nakuha ko. Malamang sa Malate nga hehe. Right now, on going ang Novaliches, Dasmarinas and Imus extensions yata eh.

[BlueBimmer]

yes! sulit na lalo SUN!

[kiper]

Now meron narin mga congressman na sumisilip sa sinasabing "kakulangan" ng SUN.

I call them..Lobbyists.

So..tuloy ang ligaya..!!

[Elroi]

Medyo OT lang po...

my friend from Nueva Ecija (Cabanatuan City) called me sa celfone kanina coz di daw makapasok ang calls ng digitel to pldt, but pldt can call digitel. since friday (feb 18) pa daw ito up to now at buong cabanatuan (or nueva ecija) ang affected. kahit local or NDD calls from digitel to pldt ay di daw pwede. Sabi daw ng CS ng digitel ay bina-BLOCK daw ng pldt talaga yung mga calls.

is this a retaliation of pldt (and smart) to SUN's 24/7?

[pajerokid]

Interesting. Tanong ko nga sa people concerned. IMO, that's blackballing na. Funny though, can't they be more obvious.

[mazdamazda]

Medyo OT lang po...

my friend from Nueva Ecija (Cabanatuan City) called me sa celfone kanina coz di daw makapasok ang calls ng digitel to pldt, but pldt can call digitel. since friday (feb 18) pa daw ito up to now at buong cabanatuan (or nueva ecija) ang affected. kahit local or NDD calls from digitel to pldt ay di daw pwede. Sabi daw ng CS ng digitel ay bina-BLOCK daw ng pldt talaga yung mga calls.

is this a retaliation of pldt (and smart) to SUN's 24/7?

if that's true... well...