Content providers face heavy penalties

Content providers found to be the cause of vanishing cell phone loads or credits would be heavily penalized by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), an official of the regulator said over the weekend.

The penalties, according to Douglas Michael Mallillin, NTC deputy commissioner, would be heavier than the ones stated in an existing memorandum circular on spam messages.

Spams messages are unsolicited and unwanted commercial and promotional advertisements and surveys.

Mallillin said that the regulator would ask content providers of telecommunication companies, or telcos, to resolve the root cause of the problem of disappearing loads.

“If they [content providers] are found to be the cause of the problem, we will penalize them,” he warned.

Mallillin said that the NTC would summon the content providers of the telecommunication companies this week for them to explain the rising number of complaints on the vanishing loads.

Content or value-added service (VAS) providers offer content such as music, ring tones, logos and video clips.

Some of the content providers registered with the NTC are Information Gateway Inc., Paysetter International Inc., AccessMobile CRBT, ZED, Wolfpac Mobile Inc., Entertainment Gateway Group and Striker Mobile.

On Wednesday, the NTC and the Commission on Information and Communications Technology summoned the telcos after President Gloria Arroyo issued Administrative Order 266, or Taking Action on Cellular Phone Complaints.

If results of the regulator’s investigation showed that the content providers are the problem, Mallillin said, the NTC would issue “a stricter memorandum circular [03-03-2005-A on spam messages].”

According to the telcos, Mallillin said, the so-called opt-in and opt-out is the cause of the disappearing loads.

He explained that if a subscriber chooses opt-in, the subscriber has in fact requested to be included in the specific list to receive direct marketing through short messaging service (SMS) or multimedia messaging service (MMS).

Choosing opt-out means that the subscriber has in fact requested that he not be sent unsolicited commercial and promotional advertisements, surveys and other broadcast/ push messages.

Based on the circular on spams, a subscriber should not be charged for SMS and/or MMS messages that he receives, unless the subscriber/recipient has chosen opt-in.

Mallillin said that the NTC plans to amend the existing memorandum circular on spam messaging “to put more teeth” to the circular.

Under the circular, telecommunication companies and content providers with more than 50 violations shall be fined P200 for every violation and will suffer cancelation of their provisional authority or certificate of registration.

Companies found with 20 to 50 violations shall be fined P200 for every violation, and their licenses and permits canceled.

The rules also prohibit the broadcast of messages between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., except for paid subscription services.

The NTC also bars telcos from charging subscribers or recipients of broadcast/push messages.

Mallillin noted that any complaint made before a telco itself, not before the NTC, “is not a count based on the MC [memorandum circular].”

Under a revision in the circular, he said, a complaint made directly against a telco would be counted as one made before the regulator.

In 2008, NTC penalized Globe Telecom Inc. and its content providers Information Gateway Inc. and Paysetter International Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. and its content provider Entrainment Gateway Group for violation of rules on spams. –Darwin G. Amojelar, Senior Reporter, Manila Times