Philippine mobile operators have agreed to implement six-second billing, as the nation's telecom regulator looks to extend the power it has to set rates for telecom services.
The National Telecommunications Commission ordered carriers to switch from per-minute to six-second billing in July, and operators have agreed to do so, according to local news source the Inquirer.
The operators will have until December to make the switch, as they may need to upgrade their billing software to comply.
The order forms part of a series of reforms the NTC has introduced in response to a Senate inquiry, which aims to resolve complaints about disappearing pre-paid credit and SMS spam messages.
The NTC has also ordered that pre-paid credit last for at least three months, and that text spam be barred.
Meanwhile, a Senate committee has cleared a bill that would give the NTC even more power to set telecom rates, according to BusinessWorld Online.
The author of the bill, Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, said he was concerned that the operators all had very similar charges, indicating possible collusion on rates.