NTC asks Globe to hold off on new subscribers

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is asking Globe Telecom to ‘voluntarily’ desist from getting new subscribers for a period of two months after the company was found to have exceeded its capacity by around 200,000 subscribers based on an NTC inspection conducted last September, pending a series of hearings which the NTC will conduct.

This, as the NTC revealed that it may conduct an inspection of the upgrades conducted by Globe in its network between September and now to find out if the company has indeed increased its capacity as it claims. The results of the new inspection as well as the outcome of the hearings will serve as basis for NTC’s final decision on Globe’s case.

NTC Commissioner Joseph Santiago told The STAR that the formal letter to Globe will be sent out either today or tomorrow. The letter will basically remind Globe of a gentleman’s agreement which it entered into with the NTC together with Smart Communications that they will abide by the technical findings of the NTC on the matter.

Santiago cited as basis for the NTC decision the recommendation of its common carriers authorization department (CCAD) to order Globe to refrain from accepting new subscribers for two months or for a shorter duration depending on their network rollout remediation.

In a separate interview yesterday, NTC deputy commissioners Nestor Dacanay and Aurelio Umali explained that they cannot just suspend Globe. Instead, the company has to do it voluntarily in line with President Estrada’s memorandum dated Aug. 28 which specifically states that the NTC can only ask the cellular companies concerned to temporarily stop accepting new subscribers in case of overcapacity.

Umali said that since the issue is quasi-judicial, there will be a series of hearings to be conducted by the NTC once Globe files its answer to the NTC letter.

Globe has argued that the matter is already moot and academic since the company has already corrected any technical problems in its network and has already had several network upgrades.

Globe president Gerardo Ablaza maintained that its cellular network was never oversubscribed, even as he emphasized that the NTC must have used a different set of standards, such as the average usage per subscriber, in coming up with its findings.

Dacanay said the NTC may conduct another inspection based on Globe’s response to the commission’s order.Umali, for his part, noted that if indeed Globe has increased its capacity and upgraded its network, then this will be a mitigating factor which NTC will have to consider during the hearings. "This and the fact that they voluntarily issued rebates to its subscribers following the network problem encountered in July will be considered," he told The STAR.