Third telecom player DITO Telecommunity Corp. yesterday filed a complaint before the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) against incumbent telcos Smart Communication Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. for alleged anti-competitive practice in their interconnection agreements.
Adel Tamano, DITO chief administrative officer, said in a press briefing the company was constrained to go to the anti-trust body after receiving complaints from subscribers they are having difficulty making calls to the other networks.
“…We been trying to fix this program for almost a year. We’ve gone to the negotiating table…yet despite all our effort“We are doing this, because it is unfair to our subscribers, ultimately (it is) unfair to the Filipino people who want the real competition,” Tamano said.
DITO clarified there is interconnection but capacity is not enough to allow its subscribers to call the other network.
Under the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) grade of services, out of 100 call attempts, there should only be one failed call. However, since August last year, DITO said out of 100 call attempts, 70 to 80 calls are unable to connect to the other network.
DITO said the filing of complaint with PCC is focused on the incumbent telcos’ abuse of dominant position in the market and is different from the one it filed with the NTC last year where DITO complained over the two telcos’ non-compliance to the grade of services mandate.
“They (incumbent telcos) have dominant position. They are using that to maintain that dominant position, creating barrier for us to have a bigger market share, ” Tamano said.
At present, DITO has 5 percent market share with over 11 million mobile subscribers.
In a statement yesterday, PCC said it received DITO’s two separate complaints againt Globe and Smart.
PCC said Competition Enforcement Office (CEO) is now evaluating the merits of DITO’s complaints.
The Commission has 10 days within which to decide whether or not to give due course to the complaint.
“If given due course, our CEO 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.” PCC added.
Interconnection is an essential component of the telecommunications industry as it allows interoperability and exchange of calls, SMS, and other information from one network to another.
The PCC shall also consult with the NTC for related regulatory concerns.
In response, PLDT said in a statement “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.”
