NTC to convince Globe, Nextel to link up

The National Telecommunications Commission is meeting with representatives from Globe Telecom and Nextel Communications Phils. Inc. this week in a last ditch attempt to convince the two companies to reach an agreement to interconnect.

Officials of Globe and Nextel have officially informed the NTC that talks between the two companies to agree on the terms of their interconnection agreement have bogged down.

The interconnection agreement is supposed to specify how the two companies are supposed to charge each other for calls originating from and terminating to each other’s networks.

Philippine laws mandate that telecommunications companies interconnect with one another. Almost all telcos are already interconnected with one another. In the case of the major telcos, what remains to be agreed upon is that between Bayan Telecommunications and Globe, as well as BayanTel and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. BayanTel recently signed an interconnection agreement with Smart.

NTC met with officials of Globe and Nextel last July 3 and they were given 30 days, or until Aug. 3 to come up with an interconnection agreement. Otherwise, the government regulatory body will step into the picture.

NTC common carriers accreditation department chief Edgardo Cabarrios told The STAR that Globe and Nextel failed to agree on the commercial terms of their interconnection agreement.

Cabarrios revealed that NTC Commissioner Eliseo Rio will call the two parties this week to try to get the two to agree for the last time.

"But of course, we don’t expect them to change their minds since they have already officially informed us that their talks have bogged down. So what the NTC will do is propose the terms of agreement," he said.

Nextel earlier signed a new interconnection agreement with Smart Communications whereby calls made from Nextel to Smart’s cellular mobile telephone system (CMTS) is charged a low P3 per minute. The same rate is applied to calls made from Smart mobile phones to Nextel phones.

The trunk radio company has also entered into an agreement with Pilipino Telephone Inc. (Piltel) CMTS for a rate of P1.50 per minute, and with Isla Communications (Islacom) CMTS for a rate of P2 per minute.

Prior to the interconnection agreement, calls from Nextel to Globe are charged P2 per minute while calls from Globe to Nextel are charged more than P8 per minute. The interconnection agreement will make sure that the sharing of profits between the two companies is equitable.

"The problem is, Nextel has different rates for each of the cellular companies. So what rate do we now propose in the case of Smart? This is something that we have to look into," Cabarrios said.

In an interview with The STAR, Nextel president Emilio Festejo said that they are willing to have the maximum rate, which is that applied in the case of Smart.