NTC orders telco to stop charging for chikka.com

[silver_corolla]

NTC orders telco to stop charging for chikka.com

Posted 11:23pm (Mla time) Feb 11, 2005
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net


THE NATIONAL Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Thursday ordered all mobile phone networks to stop charging local subscribers receiving text messages from chikka.com, a local service provider.
Chikka.com is a Philippine-based company offering Internet-based text messenger services.

NTC Commissioner Ronald Solis said that chikka.com is not authorized
to charge subscribers for a premium service it was offering since it is not registered with the agency as a value-added service provider.

"During the meeting of the Technical Working Group of the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology and the House
Committee on Trade and Industry on February 7,2005, it was mentioned that subscribers who received text messages from chikka.com are charged P2.50 per short text message. Our records show that such service is not registered with the Commission," Solis said in a written order sent to five mobile phone companies.

Edgardo Cabarios, director of the NTC’s Common Carrier Department, told reporters that Chikka.com was not supposed to charge a premium price for the text messaging service since it is not even registered in the agency as a value-added service provider.

"We always thought it was a free service until recently," he added.

Sought for comment, Chikka.com spokesperson Junie Agcaoli said that it would issue a statement only after it sees the actual NTC order.

Chikka.com offers various Internet-to-mobile phone services such as Web-based text messaging. In its website, it indicates that its text messenger is a free service allowing local subscribers to send text messages to another local subscriber via a PC connected to the Internet. It recently bagged a deal with US carriers, allowing local subscribers to send text messages to US-based users.

Chikka.com's service however allows the recipient of the free text message to reply. In this case, the recipient has to pay a premium charge of P2.50 per message.

Users can download the Chikka.com text messenger software for free.

[yebo]

nakialam na naman ang gobyerno. pag nawala ang chikka.com susunugin ko ntc! saan ba building nyan nang ma-plano ko na.

[BlueBimmer]

kala ko ba libre ang chikka??? labo naman tsong

[IceColdBeer]

Supposedly, it's free to receive text in the Philippines and they charge you P2.50 for the reply. Don't know why they are charging received text now. Perhaps they just wanted to entice many subs and then charge them later on as what is happening now.

[yebo]

libre po ang text from computer to cell phone. may bayad ang text from cell phone to computer, P2.50. so if the cell phone user sends 1 text for every message received, bale P1.25 lang for each message (2 messages sent at P2.50). now if you are like me who is out of the philippines half of the time, P1.25 per message is a bargain. cheap as cheap can get.

papatungan na naman yan ng tax! so yung P2.50 maging P3 na yan. bwiset na ntc yan!

[jim]

wala namang singil ang chikka. yung nagrereply from cell to chikka ang nacha-charge tapos nadadagdagan ng credits yung chikka account mo. hay naku basta alam na mapagkakakitaan nakikialam talaga ang gobyerno. tsk tsk tsk....

[chieffy]

bulok bulok bulok!...wala na naman makurakot ang mga amp&^*() kaya kung ano ano nakikita ng mga iyan...

[silver_corolla]

both sender and recipient ay makakaltasan... this is how:

from computer: 237163blahblah send sms to 63ekek. (free) and turns off his computer.
63ekek now becomes 237163ekek...
from mobile: 237163ekek replies to 237163blahblah. (Php 2.50)
from mobile: 237163blahblah replies to 237163ekek. (Php 2.50)
and so it goes on....

[mazdamazda]

"We always thought it was a free service until recently," he added.

er... ba't kayo galit sa NTC?

e mukhang pro-consumer move ang ginawa naman ng NTC. isipin mo, dapat hindi sila pwede maningil tapos naningil pala sila.

[silver_corolla]

actually i'm in favor of NTC!
nabiktima na ako niyan
may mga nagtetext kasi chikka gamit
pero pag pasok sa inbox ko name nila
kaya akala ko same # but if you will check carefully may additional numbers.

[yebo]

how naman nila masingil yung computer user? as far as my wife and i know, siya lang ang nasisingil ng P2.50. we count her replies to me every day and nag-tally naman na yung replies lang nya ang may bayad, yung replies ko walang bayad.

kaya ako galit sa ntc e kasi baka itigil nila ang service. e next month pa ko bibili ng laptop ni misis, e di what? stop muna communications namin?

[mazdamazda]

kaya ako galit sa ntc e kasi baka itigil nila ang service. e next month pa ko bibili ng laptop ni misis, e di what? stop muna communications namin?

ang pinatitiigil nila ang yung charging hindi po yung service.

[roninblade]

walang charging ang chikka except when replying to a pc user. kung pc to pc walang bayad. kung pc to mobile walang bayad. mobile to pc lang may charge. ganyan naman talaga dito sa atin eh, basta extra sms service may bayad. nagpapapansin lang yung ibang tao dyan kaya naghahanap ng bagong issue.

[yebo]

kung i-suspend nila ang pag-charge ng chikka e paano ma-sustain ang service, aber? so it will stop also. ganun din yun sir mazda di ba?

yung mobile phone to pc lang ang may bayad, P2.50. and for each reply ng mobile phone the pc recipient gets 2 credits in return. ang messages from pc ay walang charge, whether to the pc user or to the mobile phone recipient. di pa ba naman reasonable yun?

walang libre sa mundo. kaming mga chikka users di naman kami nagrereklamo sa charge na P2.50 e lahat na lang pinakikialaman ng ntc na yan. gusto lang kumita yan kaya ganyan.

[mazdamazda]

mag register lang sila as VAS provider with NTC kung gusto nila mag charge. ganun lang naman ka simple.

sinabi mo nga, walang libre sa mundo. pati sila dapat magbayad ng tamang fee / taxes.

hindi ba tama na maki-elam ang NTC dyan? under ng jurisdiction nila na yan dba? tapos pag hindi naman sila maki-elam baka sabihin naman na wala silang ginagawa.

[van_wilder]

akala ko libre? hindi ako nagrereply kasi alam ko may bayad... pero di ko alam na may bayad pagnakareceive...

[CaRGirL]

AFAIK...

pag nag text ang Chikka PC user to mobile phone... LIBRE

pag nag reply ang mobile user to Chikka PC user... P2.50

pag nag reply ang Chikka PC user to mobile phone... mobile user will be charged P2.50

this also applies to YAHOO MESSENGER (SMS version) users...

[tagalog grl]

hhaaayy,, basta po wag lang sana mawala ang chikka..

[Elroi]

AFAIK...

pag nag text ang Chikka PC user to mobile phone... LIBRE

pag nag reply ang mobile user to Chikka PC user... P2.50

pag nag reply ang Chikka PC user to mobile phone... mobile user will be charged P2.50

this also applies to YAHOO MESSENGER (SMS version) users...

AFAIK din, this is how chikka gets their revenues...

okay lang yung reply from Phone to PC ay ma-charge ng 2.50.

What the NTC should do ay alisin ang charge sa ganito - "pag nag reply ang Chikka PC user to mobile phone... mobile user will be charged P2.50".. kasi baka ayaw na ng Phone user ay reply pa din ng reply yung Chikka PC user, kawawa naman ung Phone user...mauubos load nya..

hmmm... actually, this is one way of getting back at your enemies..

[doublea]

I think Chikka will not exist without revenue generations for its services. SMS charging is just part of its revenues.

Unfortunately, per NTC rulings Chikka has no legitimate registration as VAS for SMS services. NTC just simply ask Chikka to legitimize its existence by registering its SMS services which fall under NTC jurisdiction. Ganon lang kasimple lang iyon.

NTC has laws to mandate. Di naman siguro kapag sinita ang Chikka already means they are blocking its business. We are already jumping to conclusion. NTC is just doing its responbilities as neutral ground as far as telecomms is concern. When Globe and Smart petitioned NTC to stop Sun Cellualr for its 24/7 operations because for them it's a predatorial charging. NTC simply rules Sun 24/7 as valid.