NTC has proposed to lower interconnection charges imposed by networks to connect to another network–for SMS from P0.35 to P0.15. NTC Deputy Commissioner Jorge Sarmiento said that the new directives were in response to an earlier order of the Department of Transportation and Communications to lower the cost of communications in the country. Currently, mobile networks charge P0.35 to interconnect with other mobile networks. Another NTC directive will also drop the interconnection charges for voice calls from P4 to P1.50. “This cut will also cut the existing cost of voice calls per minute, which is in the range of P6.50 to P8 and this lowering of interconnection charges will effectively lower the total cost of an SMS message to less than P1,” Sarmiento said. NTC pointed that in Thailand and Malaysia, the interconnection charges or “termination rates” to mobile service operators range from P1.36 to P1.70 per minute and P1.24 to P1.30 per minute respectively.