The National Reform Council (NRC) has slammed the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) for failing to take action against mobile phone companies taking advantage of consumers by charging unfair mobile phone fees on a per-minute basis.
The NRC on Tuesday endorsed a report by an NRC committee on consumer protection reform, which has proposed that mobile phone fees be charged on a per-second basis instead of per minute.
The committee also called on the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to exercise its powers to ensure the issue is solved quickly. The NRC yesterday voted 211-3 to endorse the recommendation.
Saree Ongsomwang, who chairs the committee, told the NRC yesterday that Thais use more than 94 million mobile phones while the population is only about 65 million.
She said if a user calls five times a day, statistically, the total average calling time is estimated to be nine minutes and 20 seconds, but the mobile phone service providers instead end up charging for a total of 12 minutes.
Currently, although a mobile user's calls may only last seconds, the operators will charge one minute worth of call fees.
Ms Saree said that consumer protection bodies have received many complaints from mobile phone users saying calls are charged for more than the actual calling time used if calculated on a per-second basis — or by more than 300 baht per month.
She also cited an NBTC survey which showed a pre-paid mobile phone user spent an average of 341 baht per month, while a post-paid user spent an average of 716 baht per month. The average of the two systems is 414 baht per month.
If a user saves only one minute of calling per day or about 1.33 baht in fees, almost 40 baht will be saved per person per month, Ms Saree said.
With all 94 million mobile phone numbers, if call fees are not rounded up on a per-minute basis, the money saved will come to 3.6 billion baht per month, or 43 billion baht per year, she said.
Mr Saree said it is the NRC's duty to "reclaim" the more than 43 billion baht, which will set a precedent for further action on other matters, such as users paying high fees for slow internet services.
She said the committee agreed that this issue is urgent and it cannot wait for the NBTC to take action, which may take at least six months.
Therefore, the committee also proposed the NCPO ensure that mobile phone fees on a per-minute basis are reviewed more quickly.
However, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who is also the NCPO leader, said the NCPO cannot use its absolute power under Section 44 of the interim constitution to do anything it wishes.
Mobile phone fees are an economic issue and should be left to the NBTC to handle, Gen Prayut said.
NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said a committee will be set up to study the matter to push for implementation of the proposal.
NRC members agreed that mobile phone operators are still taking advantage of consumers, and the NBTC is partly to blame for failing to do more to tackle the issue.
NRC member Sayant Chanwipaswong said users are still treated unfairly. For example, there are no warnings about roaming services when phones are used overseas, which results in exorbitant international roaming fees.
NRC member Lertrat Rattanawanich said the practice of taking advantage of customers by charging calls on a per-minute basis has existed for years, but the NBTC has failed to notice it.
"Even when we reject a call or there is a missed call that appears in an SMS, they will charge a rate of one minute," Gen Lertrat said.
NRC member Chermsak Pinthong said the mobile fees show the industry lacks free competition, adding that the unfair practice existed despite the NBTC's supervision.
Mr Chermsak said the NBTC needs revamping while the structure of the monopolised telecom industry must be overhauled.
An industry source said it is not a big deal to set a new airtime charge on a per-second basis because operators could adjust their IT and billing systems. Regulators could amend the terms of some regulations to comply with the new charge.
But one important thing is that customers may face new mobile promotional packages costing more than existing ones, because the operators might not get as much revenue when they apply the per-second-basis tariffs.