Digitel seeks NTC intervention in dispute with two other carriers

Gokongwei-owned Digital Telecommunications Phils. Inc. (Digitel) has asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to intervene following the refusal of two of the country’s leading mobile phone service providers to interconnect with its own cellular system, scheduled to be operational towards the end of the year.

In a letter to the NTC, Digitel senior vice-president for legal and inter-carrier services William Pamintuan said that the 90-day period prescribed by NTC rules for two parties to interconnect has already lapsed.

Digitel, which is the fifth company to enter the highly competitive GSM cellular market, wants to interconnect with Smart Communications Inc. and sister firm Pilipino Telephone Inc. (Piltel). But according to Pamintuan, he has yet to receive a response from the two cellular mobile telephone service (CMTS) providers.

Under NTC rules, the commission can intervene and require interconnection if no agreement is made bilaterally by the two interconnecting parties.

For its part, Smart said that Digitel first has to settle the problem as far as the connection of the latter’s local exchange or landline (LEC) with the former’s cellular network.

Smart’s legal and carrier relations head Rogelio Quevedo said that the interconnection of Digitel’s LEC with Smart’s CMTS has been pending for six years now. "smart is willing to discuss your proposal (CMTS to CMTS connection) upon activation of our LEC-CMTS interconnection," he said in a letter to Digitel.

For its part, Digitel said that it finds no reason why the LEC-CMTS interconnection, that it said is already being completed, must be a necessary prerequisite for the CMTS-CMTS interconnection.

Just last month, the Gokongwei company filed a similar complaint against Globe Telecom, saying that the latter has not responded to Digitel’s request for interconnection despite having complied with the requirements set by Globe. – Mary Ann Reyes