Globe, Digitel settle dispute over access fees

Globe Telecom and Digital Telecommunications Phils. Inc. (Digitel) may finally put to rest their long-standing dispute over access charges, or the amount one carrier is supposed to pay the other for using each other’s network.

As of yesterday, Digitel has paid in full Globe a total of P167.04 million, representing access charges which the Gokongwei-owned firm has failed to pay the latter for the period Sept. 1, 1999 to June 2001.

Because of the unpaid access charges, Globe cut off Digitel’s interconnection links, especially after Globe cited a bigger figure compared to what Digitel admits to owe the Ayala-owned telecom firm.

The matter was resolved only after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) intervened on the matter. Last October, Globe president Gerardo Ablaza and Digitel senior executive vice president Johnson Go signed a conforme letter which provides that Digitel will pay the amount of P82.045 million in three equal installments of P27.35 million each on Nov. 15 and Dec. 15, 2001 and Jan. 15, 2002. The third and last payment was made yesterday.

Digitel in October paid Globe the amount of P85 million representing half of its unpaid access charges to the latter.

There is still an undisputed amount of P20.5 million being negotiated between the two companies. Ablaza and Go have agreed to work together in good faith to exchange and verify call data records in order to reach a reasonable settlement. Globe claims that Digitel still owes it this much, resulting from alleged undeclared call traffic.

Globe earlier warned that unless the matter is finally settled, chances that will allow Digitel’s upcoming cellular mobile telephone service (CMTS) that is expected to be operational this first or second quarter to be interconnected to Globe’s own CMTS network will be jeopardized.

The Ayala-owned firm also threatened to call on other telecommunications companies to do the same in order to teach Digitel a lesson. — Mary Ann Reyes