Dito complaint against Globe, Smart being evaluated – PCC

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is evaluating the complaint filed by newcomer Dito Telecommunity Corp. against Globe Telecom and Smart Communications for alleged anti-competitive practice in their interconnection agreements.

In a statement, PCC officer-in-charge (OIC) chairperson Johannes Bernabe said the commission received two separate complaints from Dito yesterday.

DITO, owned by businessman Dennis Uy and backed by China Telcoms, alleged that both Smart and Globe were abusing their dominant positions to prevent Dito from expanding its market reach and growing as an industry player.

The third telco player said subscribers should blame Smart and Globe if their calls to other networks fail to get through.

“Out of the 100 calls that Dito makes to reach out to one of these telcos, only 30 are able to get through, so 70 out of the 100 calls are unable to connect,” Dito chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said.

“The situation that we find ourselves in is that we are constrained to file these cases because it is unfair for our subscribers that when Smart and Globe call us they get through, but when we call them we are unable to do that,” Tamano said.

For her part, Bernabe said “interconnection is an essential component of the telecommunications industry as it allows interoperability and exchange of calls, SMS, and other information from one network to another.”

“As such, our competition enforcement office (CEO) is now evaluating the merits of Dito’s complaints,” he said.

Bernabe said the PCC has 10 days to decide whether or not to give due course to DITO’s complaint.

“If given due course, our CEO will proceed to investigate the charges and if it subsequently finds sufficient basis, file with the Commission en banc a statement of objections against the allegedly erring entities,”Bernabe said.

He said the PCC would also consult with the National Telecommunications Commission for related regulatory concerns.

The PCC is an independent quasi-judicial body mandated to implement the national competition policy and enforce the Philippine Competition Act, which serves as the primary law in the Philippines for promoting and protecting market competition.

Its mandate includes the review of mergers and acquisitions; investigation and adjudication of antitrust cases; and the imposition of sanctions and penalties.

Dito had at least 11 million subscribers as of July.