<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>IDA should check stiff billing by telcos
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I WAS charged $5.20 for a two-second outgoing call on pay-as-you-roam from Indonesia to Singapore. Then I was charged $5.20 for a 12-second call and $1.80 for an incoming call from Singapore to Indonesia that lasted just one second.
Having travelled widely and made a lot of overseas calls, I find these charges exorbitant. I am curious as to why the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) has not put measures in place to protect consumers.
In my case, issues of network connectivity mean I have to pay for poor network service by StarHub as no one makes a one- or two-second call.
Similarly, I see lack of control by the IDA over television service charges. Many of us pay hefty charges for set-top connections, even if we own the set-top box, as there are no price controls in an oligopolistic environment.
The charges for the set-top boxes are determined by the service provider. Again, this is not competitive if we compare them with charges in neighbouring countries.
The IDA should adopt a more active role.
Lawrence Chia
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I WAS charged $5.20 for a two-second outgoing call on pay-as-you-roam from Indonesia to Singapore. Then I was charged $5.20 for a 12-second call and $1.80 for an incoming call from Singapore to Indonesia that lasted just one second.
Having travelled widely and made a lot of overseas calls, I find these charges exorbitant. I am curious as to why the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) has not put measures in place to protect consumers.
In my case, issues of network connectivity mean I have to pay for poor network service by StarHub as no one makes a one- or two-second call.
Similarly, I see lack of control by the IDA over television service charges. Many of us pay hefty charges for set-top connections, even if we own the set-top box, as there are no price controls in an oligopolistic environment.
The charges for the set-top boxes are determined by the service provider. Again, this is not competitive if we compare them with charges in neighbouring countries.
The IDA should adopt a more active role.
Lawrence Chia
