Upon my release of cholesterol-ed/toxic substances from my digestive system, I suddenly recalled the very first time I laid off my hand to a very technological communication device that caught Filipino consumers' eye... the cellular phone. It is of knowledge to us that mobile phones has long been present but only those class-y business/work people have it. Plus, the rise of the pager companies have overpowered the value of cellular phones in the Philippines until short message service (also known as SMS or Text Messaging) has been introduced. SMS has been there for a long time but people aren't really into it. Like hello, it's easier to actually verbalize what you want to say than to push the buttons of your phone for a minute (well, our reflexes may not be too good at that time, haha) and before you are able to send your message, your addressee have slept already.

But as time goes by and call rates increase, a lot of people tried SMS and because of its low-cost charm, it became a fad. Say hello to cellular phones and goodbye to lousy pagers. Nokia phones by that time are the best-sellers and the "in" thing but as time runs, though I own Nokia phones, I think it's becoming overrated.

Since then, everyone has been bugging their parents to get a phone for them (even us, grade schoolers did!) while network providers are too joyful to have millions of customers that they seemed to be overpricing then. Not until our country has been recognized as the "Texting Capital of the World" (might be a very nice introduction for an international awards night!) which says that about 400million messages are sent everyday, profit-bloated network providers lowered their prices and even gave way for unlimited services (ever since a new network provider created a very smart marketing strategy which is a 24/7 unlimited call and text with poor network service) and call rates got lower than before.

As people enjoy these promos and unlimited services, a lot are asking whether network providers are already overpricing. This has been thought of because of their humongous profit every month. Imagine how much these people are earning if every single Filipino buys prepaid cards or pays postpaid plan which can cost 300Php+. I've heard an issue that the congress is trying to pursue a plan wherein network providers should pay back its clients by giving away text messaging for free. It might be very useful but to think of it in a lot of ways, I think it would be a great problem.

First: Why should they provide a service which would not give profit at all?
Second: Yes, they have been earning a lot but if this SMS service will be given out for free, it might make them weak since this is the main reason why they gain a lot.
Third: There might be a very high rise of technical problems in terms of providing a very clear network service, more traffic jams might be experienced in sending and receiving messages.
Last: If SMS service is for free, SIM cards might increase its prices, call rates will be heavy on the client's part and... even those pre-schoolers might be engage in this SMS-thing (which will surely ruin their vocabulary and spelling if not guided by parents and teachers)

So, I suppose that SMS shouldn't be given out for free but instead, these network providers should lower their price since it won't actually be a heavy part for them, instead, they would earn more (for a lot of people will surely be caught in charm by this) from it.

You kept my fingers burning
The fear of my mind to speak
Has been suppressed
By your lengthy capacity of letters per line,
To the crosscutting of the words,
You had me with courage