Minimum six-second charge for cellphone calls set by NTC.

A National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) circular mandating a minimum six-second charge for cellphone calls will be out soon, commissioner Joseph Santiago said yesterday.

During a Senate hearing yesterday, Mr. Santiago said the NTC is fast-tracking the release of the circular in a bid to minimize the cost of dropped calls to subscribers.

"In the event of a dropped call, the subscriber will be losing only six seconds and will not be charged the entire minute," the NTC chief told the Senate public services committee.

Mr. Santiago pointed out that even now, several cellphone companies are charging by the second, unlike Globe Telecoms GMCR, Inc. …