The Court of Appeals (CA) has granted the petition of Now Corp. unit News and Entertainment Network Corp. (Newsnet) to direct the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to approve its application to operate a local multi-point distribution system (LMDS).
LMDS will enable Newsnet to deliver interactive pay television and multimedia services in the country.
On July 20, 2022, the special eighth division of the CA granted the petition for mandamus filed by Newsnet against the NTC and its commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba.
The 33-page order, penned by Associate Justice Perpetua Susana Atal-Paño, has directed the NTC to faithfully and immediately comply with the Feb. 12, 2020, order of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) wherein it deemed automatically approved Newsnet’s application for a certificate of public convenience (CPC).
The CA also directed the NTC and Cordoba to automatically approve Newsnet’s application for the issuance of a CPC to install, operate and maintain a LMDS to deliver interactive pay TV and multimedia services in South Luzon, North Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in the 25.35 GHz-26.35 GHz frequency range, with authority to charge rates. – Myla Iglesias
