Ministry backs new bill to cut interconnection rates

The Philippines’ Communications Secretary Leandro Mendozo has lined up behind a new bill designed to cut or do away with interconnection and voice call charges on mobile services in the country, the Manila Standard Today reports. In a statement Mendozo said that while he backed a rate reduction, it was still up to the nation’s mobile operators ‘to determine and validate if they have recouped their investment on their interconnection equipment.’ Despite his call, officials at the country’s leading cellcos Smart Communications and Globe Telecom said they were not aware of Mendoza’s renewed interest in removing interconnection charges, adding that such a move would be contrary to local rules that call on access charges or revenue sharing agreements to be negotiated by operators on a commercial basis.