NTC asked to resolve telco dispute

MANILA, Philippines — The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) was asked to step in to resolve the telco dispute between the leading providers and the industry newcomer to make sure subscribers are spared of service disruptions.

In a TV interview, former information undersecretary and NTC commissioner Eliseo Rio Jr. asked the NTC to intervene in the brewing conflict involving Dennis Uy’s Dito Telecommunity Corp. and telco giants Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc.

“Looking at it, from what my experience when I was the NTC commissioner, the NTC has to look at the merits. Dito is saying that it has problems with interconnecting with Globe and Smart,” Rio said.

“Interconnection is paramount for public service. In other words, if the telcos do not interconnect with each other, the public will suffer. That issue on interconnection should be given more focus because the subscribers are paramount. That should be settled,” he said.

Last week Dito filed antitrust charges against Smart and Globe on the allegation that Dito users fail to connect their calls to Smart and Globe subscribers.

In response, Globe demanded Dito to first settle its P622 million in penalties owed to the Ayala-led telco for the 1,000 fraudulent calls every day that came from Dito and passed through Globe between July 2021 and July 2022.

Similarly, Smart said it would only agree to increase its interconnection capacity as requested by Dito if Uy’s telco agrees to improve its detection systems to mitigate cases of fraudulent calls.

In a Facebook post, Rio said Smart and Globe are provided with legal avenues where they can course their grievances against Dito. However, he reminded them that they are prohibited under the law to stop their interconnection services with any of their competitors.

Executive Order 59 issued by former president Fidel Ramos requires all telcos regulated by the NTC to interconnect with one another. It also mandates that interconnection must be carried out in a non-discriminatory manner to the benefit of consumers.

“Telcos, therefore, cannot decide on their own not to interconnect or limit the interconnections for any reason whatsoever,” Rio said.