Why can't Voice and SMS be unlimited too? » YugaTech

Why can’t Voice and SMS be unlimited too?

We’ve been doing voice calls and sending SMS on our mobile phone for over a decade now. Recently, we’re also sending data over 3G as well. But unlike mobile internet that can be had for unlimited use, why can’t we also get the same with voice and SMS?

If you looked that their annual financial results, it’s easy to spot that voice and SMS brings a huge chunk of their profits so I don’t think they’d let it go easily.

However, we’ve seen these unlimited offerings in some “limited” way now:

Unlimited text to numbers on the same network for a daily flat fee with limited number of free text to other networks.
Unlimited free calls to any landline number within your area code for a flat monthly subscription.
Unlimited calls to all mobile numbers within your network and sister network for a fixed daily or monthly fee.

But why the limitations? Voice and SMS basically take up bandwidth similar to mobile internet. A single sent SMS should be around 140 bytes which is relatively very small. If we can get unlimited internet on our mobile phone for Php1,200 per month, why can’t we get the same rates for voice and SMS?

There’s only one technically I can think of that might be an answer to this — interconnection fees. Carriers pay a fix amount for every interconnections they make to other carriers. It’s like the toll fee we pay to go from EDSA to NLEX.

That’s the reason carriers can offer unlimited services within their network but not outside. Unless that interconnection fee gets dropped, I don’t think we’d see something truly unlimited. Well, unless everybody goes Skype.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

24 Comments

CD says:

15 years ago

interconnection fees can be the main reason, but im not sure whats the case here in the US.im currently on a vacation here and found out that receiving a call or text from another party will also deduct credits for my balance. 20cents for 1 sms received from any network. and i think its 20cents per min for calls..but they have unlimited plans too as well.
- Reply
abeolandres says:

15 years ago

Why canâ€™t Voice and SMS be unlimited too? http://www.yugatech.com/blog/telecoms/wh…
- Reply

drichhhh says:

15 years ago

@abeolandres isn’t voice and sms unlimited (super unli on globe?)
abeolandres says:

15 years ago

@drichhhh limited to own network only
drichhhh says:

15 years ago

@abeolandres ah
frenchychu says:

15 years ago

@abeolandres oh please. i say no to unlimited calls and sms service. no one wants network congestion.

simplynice93 says:

15 years ago

Calls and Text messages within their network is the telcos’ main source of income. Even if you activate your unlimited call, the duration of the call usually takes only 5 minutes. After that, the call is dropped and you need to call again which is very frustrating.
- Reply
Adrian says:

15 years ago

@simplynice93: yes you are correct. unlimited disconnect :(
- Reply
Jovz says:

15 years ago

The reason is because a lot of people will abuse the unlimited, cross-network service and it will cause network traffic be it voice or SMS. I’m ok with how its currently setup right now. Just my 2 cents.
- Reply
loadex says:

15 years ago

Factors maybe:
-Interconnection Fee..
-Filipino Habit of Abusing a service when given for free (telebabad), and then magrereklamo pag hindi naka-connect.
-Capacity in terms of live calls that can be served by a cellsite. May maximum channels lang ang available sa isang cellsite. Kung walang available channels.. ayun dropped calls na. (SMS is another story kase data lang siya)
- Reply
bokoi says:

15 years ago

“A single sent SMS should be around 140 bytes which is relatively very small. If we can get unlimited internet on our mobile phone for Php1,200 per month, why canâ€™t we get the same rates for voice and SMS?”

You got a wrong conclusion for this one abe…
SMS/Calls uses different “technology” than internet. Data uses separate channels. unless of course, VOIP…

Maybe if all of us are hooked up in unlimited internet, we all could possibly do unlimited voice calls and sms/chat thru VOIP or 3rd party applications such as skype. to hell with interconnection fees as well. but unfortunately, not all of us are with unlimited internet.
cell fone batteries wouldnt last a day if connected to the internet all the time…

Maybe in the near future…
- Reply
bokoi says:

15 years ago

@loadex
SMS pass thru signaling channels…
- Reply
lolipown says:

15 years ago

loadex has basically summed most of it up. Although the biggest reason still is PROFIT.
- Reply
Free Hosting says:

15 years ago

One word, yuga – money.

Companies will lose money if they go ‘unlimited’
- Reply