DITO Telecommunity Corp. filed complaints against PLDT Inc., Smart Communications Inc., and Globe Telecommunications Inc., for “failing to provide sufficient interconnection capacity.
Newcomer, DITO Telecommunity has filed complaints against oldtimers, Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communication of PLDT before the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) for "failing to provide sufficient interconnection capacity" to make phone calls from its users.
At a session in Taguig City, DITO Chief Administrative Officer Atty. Adel A. Tamano said the complaints were filed on Monday morning.
In a statement, PCC Officer-in-Charge Johannes Benjamin R. Bernabe stated that DITO had made two distinct complaints about Globe and Smart “for possible anti-competitive practice in their interconnection agreements, reported Business World.
“Interconnection is an essential component of the telecommunications industry as it allows interoperability and exchange of calls, short message service (SMS), and other information from one network to another,” he noted.
Bernabe said the commission has 10 days to decide whether or not to give due course to the complaint.
Bernabe added that
“if given due course, our Competition Enforcement Office will proceed to investigate the charges and if it subsequently finds sufficient basis, file with the Commission en banc a Statement of Objections against the allegedly erring entities,”
DITO’s Tamano said the third telco player “has been trying to fix the problem” with Globe and Smart “for almost a year.”
DITO Chief Technology Officer Rodolfo D. Santiago stated that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) demands an interconnection quality with a failure rate of no more than 1 percent.
“According to the NTC, there should only be one unsuccessful call out of 100 calls. The status is that 70 to 80 out of 100 calls are unsuccessful,” he added.
Tamano replied when asked if DITO was seeking damages:
"We are not asking money from you. You only have to interconnect us.”
“It’s about interconnection, which is mandated by law. They’re not supposed to stop that,” he noted.
He said that the expansion of DITO is hampered by low connectivity quality. This year, the corporation wants to add 12 million new users.
“It becomes very clear to us that it has been an abuse of their dominant position,” Tamano added.
The PLDT group said:
“We are yet to receive a copy of the complaint, but we can assure the government and the public that PLDT and Smart have always supported and ensured fair competition in the telco industry.”
“We don’t have a copy of the complaint yet. Until such time, we will refrain from issuing a statement. Globe reiterates that it has always advocated for fair business practices and competing on a level playing field.” Globe's chief sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer, Maria Yolanda C. Crisanto, added.
Tags: #Telecomms, #sufficient interconnection, #DITO, #PCC, #NTC