Sun seeks stronger NTC action vs. PT&T

SUN CELLULAR of Digital Telecommunications Phils. Inc. (Digitel) reported to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) that Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (PT&T) has defied an order the regulator issued, preventing PT&T from offering various telecommunication services.

In a letter filed with the NTC, William S. Pamintuan, Digitel’s senior vice president for legal services, said PT&T’s actions have led to interference problems in about 70 Digitel sites between Bulacan and Las Piñas.

“The interference has resulted in a degraded network quality,” Pamintuan said.

“We have learned that this Commission has already issued a cease and desist order against PT&T, but until now PT&T has continuously defied said order of [NTC],” he said.

Pamintuan asked the NTC to “issue anew a cease and desist order against PT&T.”

Earlier, Globe Telecom Inc. filed a similar complaint against PT&T, which allegedly had been using frequencies allocated to the Ayala-led telco’s 3G (third-generation) technology service.
--Darwin G. Amojelar - Manila Times

Clark BPO firm secures tax incentives

NCO Philippines Clark Inc., an information and communication technology company has bagged tax incentives and other perks from the Board of Investments (BOI), the agency said Wednesday.

The firm’s project involves the establishment of a 340-seat contact center facility with total investment of P150 million at the Philexcel Business Park, Clark Freeport in Pampanga.

The investment covers the Information Technology equipment, leasehold, furniture and fixtures and pre-operating expenses and working capital. This new contact center will generate 425 job opportunities at full capacity.

NCO said the facility will provide services like technical support, customer support, directory assistance, and outbound credit and collections.

“The computed investment cost per seat is $3,364 [excluding working capital at P44 to a dollar], which complies with the Board of the Investments minimum requirement of $2,500 cost per seat for call-center projects,” the company said in its application letter to the BOI.

The company’s market includes US outsourcing companies like AT&T, Aegon, Citicorp, Microsoft and Amazon.
--Katrina Mennen A. Valdez - Manila Times

Stop NTC from dunning us for arrears, NMI tells court

Stop NTC from dunning us for arrears, NMI tells court

By Darwin G. Amojelar Reporter

NEXT Mobile, Inc. has asked the Court of Appeals to stop the National Telecommunications Commission from collecting arrears from the phone company.

In its filing before the CA, Next said it wants to stop NTC from enforcing its 2005 order, which required the company to pay its supervision and regulatory fees (SRF) amounting to P135.76 million.

The Velarde Group-owned telephone firm said the fees are excessive and will undermine the company’s operation.

The NTC computes the supervision and regulatory fees (SRF) based on the company’s capitalization, in which companies pay 50 centavos for every P100 of paid capital.

The NMI said the regulator committed a mistake when it included in its 2004 and 2005 SRF computation the increase in the company’s paid-in capital, which, NMI said, was a result of the conversion of its liabilities to creditors into stockholder’s equity and, therefore, not part of the capital stock.

“The NTC should not have included in the computation of NMI”s SRF/SUF liabilities for 2004 and 2005 the superficial increase in NMI’s paid-in capital resulting from the latter’s debt-to-equity conversion scheme,” NMI said.

“No actual cash or money was infused into NMI. No actual property or equipment was added to NMI’s inventory which would possibly result in or enable NMI to expand its business, which, in turn, would require the NTC to conduct a more extensive regulation of NMI,” the company added.

NMI had already filed a motion for reconsideration, which NTC had denied.

NMI asked the CA to immediately issue a temporary restraining order and/or a writ of preliminary injunction directing the NTC to maintain the status quo and to cease and desist from collecting the P126 million SRF and P9.67-million spectrum users fee (SUF), respectively.

It also asked the court to order the NTC to issue a new assessment to NMI for SRF/SUF based on the paid-in capital of P339,766,300, excluding the increase in NMI’s paid-in capital