(Eagle News) — Senator Panfilo Lacson is pushing for the removal of interconnection fees that are charged to consumers for calls and text messages made across two different networks.
For this, Lacson called for an amendment to Senate Bill 1636, or the Lifetime Cellphone Number Act.
“We are here to protect the consumers. And the consumer, not being made aware he is calling through a different PTE (public telecommunications entity), is helpless in being charged with P2.50 for mobile calls and 15 centavos for SMS,” he said.
According to Lacson, based on data provided by the National Telecommunications Commission, telecommunications companies made P806.9 million in 2016 in interconnection fees.
Their total operating revenue, he said, was P98.35 billion in 2016.
