NTC starts review of PLDT, Digitel merger

By Vernadette Joven (philstar.com)

An official of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said today that the agency is taking into consideration the position paper submitted by Globe Telecom on the merger announcement made by PLDT and Digitel.

In a phone interview with Philstar.com, NTC commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba said that they already began the review of the merger and will consider Globe’s position paper as an input and part of the review.

“I already read the letter and we at the NTC together with the Department of Justice and the economic team are already studying the PLDT-Digitel deal, as mandated by President Aquino,” Cordoba said.

The NTC official, meanwhile, asked for patience from the stakeholders because it would take some time before they can issue a decision on the controversial merger.

He said they have to take into consideration a lot of factors coming from different business industries that would be affected by the merger.

Two weeks ago, during the field training and live firing exercises for Balikatan 2011 in Nueva Ecija, President Benigno Aquino III said he would order NTC, the Department of Justice and his economic team to study the merger thoroughly.

“We want to ensure that there is a level playing field,” President Aquino said.

In its position paper, Globe cited threats to free competition and urged the NTC to act within its legal mandate to enforce and implement the Public Telecommunications Policy Act.

“If they (NTC) must approve the deal, do so but there are rules to follow which is already being commonly practiced in other countries,” said Atty. Rodolfo Salalima, chief legal counsel of Globe Telecom.

Salalima added that the NTC should no longer wait for PLDT to submit documents pertaining to the merger to determine whether it breached the clause of free competition.

He said that the NTC should also be able to clear the frequency allocation issue and whether the dominant carrier should return part of its frequency back to the government.

The PLDT Group, which already filed the acquisition deal last week, remains optimistic that they will be able to obtain the necessary approval before the deadline they set for the merger by the end of June.

Atty. Ray Espinosa, PLDT head of regulatory affairs and policy, calls the issues raised by Globe as a regulatory blackmail to gain leverage and exact concessions from PLDT, through NTC.

“Globe speaks of monopoly even as its controlling shareholder, have institutionalized combinations in restraint of trade, which is illegal,” Espinosa said.

Espinosa said that the issue on frequency allocation should focus on the efficiency of frequency utilization and subscriber base/usage, not on the network infrastructure, which is dependent on investment.

He added that they even have pending requests from NTC for more frequency allocation to serve more subscribers since the company has already fully utilized the frequency allocated to them.

SBMA, PLDT team up to push Subic’s info, communications tech potential

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT—After lagging behind in the race to be a leading player in the country’s growing information and communications technology (ICT) industry, the Subic Bay Free Port is now poised to blaze a trail in the knowledge-based sector and catch up with the competition this year.

Armand Arreza, administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), said the agency is determined “on having Subic take the path to knowledge-based industries” by teaming up with telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) in various ICT projects in this free port.

“This would put Subic at the frontlines of the country’s information and communications technology sector,” Arreza said in a statement on Thursday.

“With PLDT as partner, the Subic Bay Free Port can now shift from labor-intensive to knowledge-based industries, guided by the emerging trends in the information-technology [IT] sector,” he said.

To seal this partnership, the SBMA and PLDT, along with PLDT subsidiary Subic Telecom (Subictel), are set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) sometime this month, Arreza said.

The MOU is expected to pave the way for tripartite collaborative projects that would benefit the Subic Bay Free Port’s ICT industry.

Arreza added that the SBMA wanted to ride the anticipated boom in the ICT industry, which some IT analysts said may grow by 30 percent to 35 percent annually, and could generate 1 million new jobs in 2010 alone.

SBMA’s partner Subictel said that the joint effort would basically promote this free port’s emerging IT capabilities and enable Subic to directly compete with leading ICT players like Manila, Cebu, Davao and Laguna.

“We would like to position Subic in the forefront as one of the newest choices when it comes to ICT,” said Subictel president Dennis Magbatoc.

He said the projects would bank on PLDT’s most recent ICT investments here that are worth more than P40 million. The investments are PLDT’s fiber optics cable linking Subic to Manila and the entire Luzon grid, and the P20-million Innovation Laboratory (Innolab) that Subictel unveiled last October.

The Subic Innolab, the fifth of its kind in the country, is designed to highlight Subic Bay’s IT and telecommunications infrastructure, as well as the available and soon-to-be-offered telecoms solutions for business-process outsourcing (BPO) operations, retail and  manufacturing businesses, and even the hotel industry.

Arreza said Subictel’s IT facility, which is located beside Subic’s famous Spanish Gate landmark, has been included in the itinerary for potential investors visiting this former naval base.

“With this one-stop IT center, the SBMA will get to showcase the IT aspect of doing business in Subic, on top of its other strengths, like strategic location, tax and duty-free perks, highly skilled manpower, superb support industries and infrastructure, and a highly secured and tourist-friendly environment,” said Arreza.

He added that when it comes to IT support, the Subic Free Port now “has everything and anything you need,” echoing the “fully loaded” theme of the Innolab facility.

To further encourage knowledge-based industries, Arreza also said the SBMA has approved the shift in Subic’s development program to vertical expansion.

This would allow the construction of tall buildings that could accommodate a full range of BPO and IT-related services like back-office outsourcing, software and games development, engineering design and digital animation Arreza said. Written by Henry Empeño / Business Mirror Correspondent

Prof Danny Piano, Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce President, Councilor Ed Piano, Chairman of Olongapo City Telecom and IT Board, and Hon. Armand Arreza talked about the latest in telecommunications in Olongapo City Subic Bay Freeport.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTT2jCWf7Lw

Reorganize NTC

By: Jester P. Manalastas - People's journal

TWO lawmakers proposed the reorganization of the National Telecommunications Commission to meet the rapid developments in information and communication technologies.

Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte have filed House Bill 6968 seeking to reorganize and strengthen the powers of the NTC.

Romualdez called for the immediate approval of the bill, saying that governments of other countries have devoted efforts towards the development and management of information systems to streamline and improve efficiency in the delivery of basic services to the people.

Villafuerte said it has become imperative for the government to provide a regulatory environment to develop a viable, adequate, efficient and universal information and communications sector using the best available and affordable technologies.

“Universal access to reliable and affordable services must be ensured and the interest and welfare of both the industry players and the consuming public must be protected,” he said.

Aside from granting the NTC fiscal autonomy, it shall have jurisdiction over all persons and entities engaged in the operation and/or provision of information and communications telecommunications, broadcast, cable TV and other multi-media infrastructure and services.

It shall also have the power to establish standards, specifications, measures, guidelines, rules and regulations that will govern the operations of service providers in the areas of information and communications technology, broadcast, cable TV and other multi-media service providers.

Under the bill, the NTC should establish a rigorous training program which includes the setting up of training center for its personnel to enhance the technical and regulatory competence of the Commission in the monitoring and enforcement of laws, rules and regulations and compliance thereof.

NTC expanding telco billing reform

Written by Miguel R. Camus / Business Mirror Reporter

THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) plans to expand its newly implemented billing scheme currently covering calls among cell phone users, to include those made to wireless and traditional landlines.

On Sunday, the regulator started a billing regime which effectively requires telecommunication firms to charge local cell phone-to-cell phone calls by six second “pulses” instead of the traditional per-minute charge.

Based on the rates approved by the NTC, the cost of a full minute should not exceed the assumed prevailing rate of P7.50, thereby giving consumers the option to pay for the time actually used at no extra cost.

Beyond this, the NTC is also working on new rules to include wireless and traditional landlines in the per pulse billing scheme.

“Eventually this will follow,” said NTC deputy commissioner Douglas Michael N. Mallillin at the sidelines of a press briefing held Saturday.

He explained that there is a growing popularity for calls between cell phone and landlines, which is not covered by the six-second billing scheme. Mallillin said it makes sense for landlines to follow suit since their usage might drop if consumers feel that they can save more through cell phone-to-cell phone voice calls.

He declined to comment on a specific time frame, however, noting that public hearings in Congress will still have to be held.

This is part of the NTC’s longer term goal to bring down local mobile call billing on a per-second charge, similar to the US, Hong Kong and Singapore.

“We are going on six and eventually [if we can] per second,” said Mallillin.

Already ahead of this, Ayala-led Globe Telecom offered a new per second billing scheme to coincide with the NTC regime.

Globe and Touch Mobile users will be charged 5 centavos per second on Sunday and 10 centavos per second for the rest of the week.

This amounts to P3 per minute on Sunday and P6 per minute from Monday to Saturday.

"We hope to stimulate and drive call usage among heavy texters, especially during this season," said Globe president Ernest L. Cu.

The landmark six-second pulse billing was a result of the collaboration—in the wake of a clamor from consumer groups—between the NTC, the Philippine Senate and major telecommunication firms Sun Cellular, Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc.

The rules, which took effect 12:01 a.m. Sunday, will initially cover intra-network calls (meaning those within the same network such as Globe to Globe, Smart to Smart and Sun to Sun calls). Cross-network calls for the new regime will start on December 16, after the major telcos asked for an extension to prepare their systems.

The major telcos had earlier asked the NTC to move the implementation date to the end of January 2010, citing difficulties arising from increased network traffic in December.

The new regime is also assigned as the default billing mode, meaning subscribers can be charged on the minute-per-pulse basis if they actively enroll in those schemes.

Under the rule, the NTC said that for the 10 six- second pulses in a minute, the first two pulses or 12 seconds shall not exceed the “flagdown rate” of P3; while the remaining eight shall not exceed the P7.50 prevailing rate for the full minute.

For instance, at the flagdown rate of P3 with the succeeding pulses costing P0.56 each, the total bill for a 30-second voice call will only be P4.59 compared to the full-minute charge of P7.50 under the old scheme.

The cost per pulse for succeeding minutes after the first will cost P0.75 each.

“The consuming public will be happier with this regime. The [new] system is already an advantage to the consuming public,” said Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile at the briefing.

Smart Communications and Sun Celluar officials could not be reached for comment yesterday. Globe

Mallillin said the NTC will monitor the new rates over the next two to three months to determine the effects on the telco firms and consumers.

NTC gives nod to Clark, Subic phone interconnection

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has given the go-ahead signal to an initiative to interconnect the two telephone systems operating in Clark and Subic Freeports, saying the interconnection “are within NTC existing rules and regulations.”

The go-ahead signal is contained in a letter sent by NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba to Clark Development Corp.’s Angelo “Sonny” Lopez Jr. in response to the latter’s query on the legality of such interconnection.

Lopez, through the Metro Clark Advisory Council (MCAC), has requested a certificate or clearance showing that the proposed interconnection of phone lines has not violated NTC rules and regulations.

The MCAC has been pushing for the interconnection of Clark and Subic phone lines following the success of the interconnection of Clark phone lines with other telecommunications providers in Pampanga.

CDC President Benigno Ricafort, Lopez, PLDT Clark manager Lito Mercado, PEP TV President Dennis Uy and Cabinet Secretary Edgardo Pamintuan have been the forerunners of the interconnection project which has been cited by President Arroyo.

In December 2008, President Arroyo bestowed an award to Clark officials led by CDC’s Ricafort for the telecommunications interconnection project that was one of the top winners of the 1st Gawad Pampublikong Korporasyon (1st GPK).

Ricafort said the CDC’s winning entry was conceived in 2001 and aims to interconnect Clark’s telephone lines with those in Angeles City and the City of San Fernando, as well as other areas in the province of Pampanga.

He said that the interconnection project was an initiative of the MCAC – an influential partnership group between the CDC and contingent local government units within the Metro Clark area.

Lopez said the project paved the way for phone companies like the PLDT, Smart Telecommunications and Digitel to provide toll-free call to its subscribers in Clark abd the rest of Pampanga.

Lopez, who heads MCAC secretariat, said the residents, locators and investors inside the Clark Freeport are now saving at least 13.2 million yearly on long distance calls because of the project.

“The CDC alone was saved as much as P1.2 million per year since this project was implemented,” he said.

--Daily Tribune

What? A tax relief for telecoms?

Opinion Written by Butch del Castillo / Business Mirror = Omerta

We sometimes refer to Congress as a legislative “mill.” It is, after all, like a complex processing plant. It refines raw ideas (bills) into semifinished products called drafts of proposed laws.

But if it is a kind of “processing plant,” how come our Congress has often been criticized for being excruciatingly slow in acting on some of the most urgent bills, but remarkably efficient and fast in approving other pieces of legislation? Well, folks, the answer is obviously no other than “lubrication.” Lubrication is that efficacious substance that makes the wheels and gears of Congress turn with remarkable smoothness and speed. In our bicameral system, the legislative mill we call Congress is made up of two independent processing plants. Each one consists of a complex system of wheels and gears called committees and subcommittees. Each wheel or gear quickens in its efficiency only when well-oiled or—more aptly put, greased. Sometimes, the natural oil that our lawmakers produce out of a zeal to do right by their constituencies or pure love of country is sufficient. More often than not, however, the grease is provided by special interest lobby groups. It is this kind of lubrication that produces miraculous results.

In the House of Representatives only this week, for example, we saw a fine example of how this kind of greasing can perk up the enthusiasm of some of the members of the House ways and means committee to push a particular piece of legislation.

This committee—according to accounts made by members of the House press corps—reported out a number of proposed measures for plenary debates. It was discovered, however, that among the measures that were reported out was one that was never discussed in committee deliberations, at least in the recollection of party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz.

Had Representative de la Cruz not raised a howl against it, the “smuggled” bill would have been calendared for plenary debates (plenary debates are a prelude to approval or disapproval by the House of any proposed law).

How this bill was “smuggled” out of the committee level (“railroaded” was the term used by our good congressmen) is a mystery my friend Jonath was still trying to solve as of this writing yesterday. In remarks made on and off the floor, according to the House reporters, de la Cruz lamented that on the one hand, his colleagues in the committee were strongly supportive of a bill imposing higher “sin” taxes (on tobacco and liquor) to increase the government’s tax take and thus pare down its huge budgetary deficit. But the same committee members also seem to back the idea of depriving the government of a fairer share of the huge net profits being raked in by these telecoms firms.

In other words, these overzealous congressmen don’t mind driving the tobacco producers of northern Luzon (his fellow Ilocanos) out of business by imposing bigger sin taxes. And yet they also want to grant these affluent telecoms firms a tax relief by legislative fiat. If passed, the bill would allow these companies to pay much less than the paltry amount of taxes they are paying now.

The bill angrily questioned by de la Cruz proposes to exempt some P30 billion in profits made by the telecom firms from any income tax assessment. (Copies of the highly questionable bill yesterday somehow suddenly became scarce. But I’ll get one and take it up again in this column the next time around.)

Figures provided by the Department of Finance show that the five providers of wireless telephone service alone (cell-phone companies) had combined revenues of P175.586 billion last year. The government’s share (in income taxes) of that huge income was only P21.448 billion.

The popular sentiment has always been to tax them a little more to help the government out of its fiscal predicament. But these companies have consistently resisted such an idea by simply threatening to pass on any additional tax burden to cell-phone users. This threat has been very effective in keeping Congress at bay on this ticklish question.

All the cell-phone companies have never had it so good, with their sales rising phenomenally for the past five years. They are, in fact, riding the crest of a sales boom that is not expected to flatten out in the next five. Why would they want to deprive the government of its fair share of their rich pickings?

High Court rules on telcos firm

The Supreme Court (SC) has declared final its ruling that Smart Communications, Inc. is not exempt form the payment of franchise tax to local governments.

In a resolution written by Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura, the SC denied Smart’s motion to reconsider last year’s decision that dismissed its petition challenging the franchise tax of 75 percent of one per cent gross annual receipts imposed by the local government of Davao City.

Last year, the SC ruled that Smart unlike Globe Telecom, Inc., is not exempt from franchise tax that may be imposed by municipal, city, or provincial governments.

The decision affirmed the July 19, 2002 order of the Davao City regional trial court (RTC) which dismissed the petition filed by Smart with a ruling that “the ambiguity of the ‘in lieu of all taxes’ provision in RA No. 7295 (Smart’s legislative franchise) on whether it covers both national and local taxes must be resolved against the taxpayer.”

From an unfavorable RTC ruling, Smart elevated the issue before the SC.

Section 9 of RA 7295 provides that “…the grantee, its successors or assigns shall pay a franchise tax equivalent to three per cent of all gross receipts of the business… and the said percentage shall be in lieu of all taxes on this franchise or earnings thereof.”

Smart claimed that the “in lieu of all taxes” clause in Section 9 of its franchise exempts it from all taxes, both local and national, except the national franchise tax (now value added tax), income tax, and real property tax.

By. Rey G. Panaligan – Manila Bulletin

‘Scrap expiration of prepaid load’

By: Jeffrey C. Tiangco - Journal online

THERE should be no expiration date on prepaid cellphone loads.

Thus said Kabataan Party-list group in the wake of mounting complaints of “vanishing loads” from consumers.

The group said they welcome the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) new order compelling telecommunication firms to triple the shelf life of prepaid cell phone loads. The NTC issued the directive last Friday.

Kabataan, however, insisted that NTC should scrap the expiration of prepaid load altogether.

“Increasing the shelf life of prepaid load is not enough to address the concerns of millions of subscribers. The rationale behind prepaid expiration dates is that telcos are dictating how consumers should use their purchased load for them to be able to rake in more profits,” the group said.

“Kapag may expiration kasi, mas mapapadalas ang pagbili ng load. Binili na ’yan ng consumer, it is their prerogative if they opt na tipirin ang load to last according to their budget. Hindi naman ito katulad ng pagkain or medicine na mapapanis o masisira kapag hindi nagamit agad,” they added.

Citing a research from consumer advocacy group TxtPower, the group said telecommunication companies have been guilty of “dagdag-bawas” for years now.

Earlier, TxtPower filed a complaint due to telcos network inaccessibility that included sending and receiving messages problems, busy network on call attempts, lack of network coverage, expiring and disappearing load credits.

“Consumers are burdened with high charges for mobile services, mysterious vanishing of prepaid load, and unwanted text ads and ringtones,” the group said.

They added that recent survey also recorded 28 percent of the complaints deals on dropped calls and 7 percent on inaccurate billing.

Earlier, the youth party-list group launched a public service announcement in YouTube entitled, “Nawalang load? May magagawa ka!” The video may be viewed at http://tiny.cc/M47Vj as it urged cellphone users to send in their complaints to the NTC, TxtPower and Kabataan office at the Batasan Pambansa Building in Quezon City.

Consumers may also text in their complaints to the TxtPower hotline 09071134503 or log on to http://apps.facebook.com/causes/posts/233606, or coordinate directly with Kabataan by sending an email to cong.mongpalatino@gmail.com

“We encourage cellphone users to exercise their right to complain and at the same time aid in the sufficient documentation of these cases. Complaints from subscribers can be used for future legislation and probe regarding the matter,” the group said.

IT added that the Kabataan has initiated for holding of congressional inquiry after filling House Resolution 1237 to investigate the case of vanishing loads.

“It is high time that telcos address the numerous cases of ‘dagdag-bawas’ and for the NTC to impose stricter measures on abusive cellular phone service providers,” it added.

= = =

Telecom firms must return favor to public

By: Ryan Ponce Pacpaco

SPEAKER Prospero “Boy” Nograles, Jr. yesterday urged telecommunication companies to take pro-consumer steps that would make their services more affordable to their clients.

“This is a welcome news especially now that Filipino consumers are hard pressed to get more value for their hard earned money. That’s why Congress is continuously trying to find ways to make basic necessities -- such as telecommunications -- more affordable to consumers,” he said.

Nograles said telecommunication companies should return the favor to their clients instead of questioning the National Telecommunications Commission’s order extending the expiration period of prepaid loads.

He cited as an example “Call All Landline” being offered by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company which gives customers an affordable option on voice calls.

“This Call All program of the PLDT is just one of the many innovative steps that can make life easier for millions of Filipinos whether they are from the slums or from the ritzy mansions of Forbes Park. Affordable text and voice calls are great social equalizers and I’m glad that one of our telecoms is taking great strides to make it happen,” said Nograles.

Meanwhile, Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond “Mong” Palatino said prepaid loads should not have expiration dates amid complaints of “vanishing loads” from consumers.

The NTC the other day ordered mobile phone firms to triple the shelf life of prepaid loads.

Palatino urged the Commission to scrap the expiration of prepaid load altogether.

“Increasing the shelf life of prepaid load is not enough to address the concerns of millions of subscribers. The rationale behind prepaid expiration dates is that telecoms are dictating how consumers should use their purchased load for them to be able to rake in more profits,” said Palatino.

Globe-PLDT competition over duo service heightens

Competition between Globe Telecom and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. over dual services heightened again after the former expanded its Duo service to cover pre-paid subscribers.

Dual services allow unlimited landline calls on wireless handsets. But Globe said its duo-service, which allows unlimited calls to landline numbers within the same area code, is now available to pre-paid subscribers both in Metro Manila and Cebu. The services was previously limited to post-paid subscribers.

“Fast becoming popular to customers in Metro Manila and Cebu, Globe Duo is now available in pre-paid in Metro Manila starting June 5 and this was introduced in Cebu since May 25,” Globe said.

Globe announced the introduction of its Duo service for pre-paid subscribers, a day after PLDT introduced a second SIM that can be inserted in mobile phones or other wireless handsets to make unlimited landline calls from anywhere in the country.

The company said the new product “PLDT Call All” revolutionizes the residential landline by giving Filipinos total freedom to call their loved ones across the country anytime, for an additional monthly fee of only P250.

Globe’s Duo service for post-paid subscribers, announced a month earlier, allows free calls from a mobile phone to any landline number within the same area code, for an additional cost of P399 monthly.

The new Globe Duo service for pre-paid subscribers are available for those who will get a special Duo pre-paid SIM pack worth P45. The cost of the service that allows unlimited mobile and landline calling within Metro Manila and Cebu is P125 for five days and P350 for 14 days.

“We want everyone to experience the best in unlimited calling at an affordable price. So we are introducing the pre-paid variant and we have initially rolled it out in Cebu and now in Metro Manila. Duo is an innovative service and a great offering that we want to make available to more customers,” said Ferdinand dela Cruz, head of Globe’s consumer wireless business. By Roderick T. dela Cruz - Manila Standard Today

Liberty wants license to operate in Zambales

Written by Lenie Lectura -Business Mirror
LIBERTY Broadcasting Network Inc. (LBNI) is asking the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) that it be allowed to operate within the territorial jurisdiction of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the province of Zambales.

The company asked the NTC to declare and include the province of Zambales, including the territorial area of SBMA, in its certificates of public convenience 93-380 and 97-292.

“If granted, the motion we filed will render the motion for clarification moot and academic. Wherefore, it is most respectfully prayed of this commission to cancel the hearing and suspend the proceedings until and after the final adjudication of the omnibus motion,” said LBNI.

But SBMA, which is the sole provider of telecommunications services in Subic, is opposing this. It said that Liberty’s motion is not compliant with the three-day notice rule.

To this, LBNI pointed out that “the omnibus motion, being defective in form, cannot in any way prevent the continuation of the proceedings. The hearing must inevitably proceed.”

NTC director Edgardo Cabarios said SBMA argued that it has the authority to operate in the area and that LBNI should not come in.

“The case is still pending. We still have yet to determine if we can grant LBNI’s request considering that SBMS is the sole provider in the area. Besides that the legal proceedings are being questioned,” said Cabarios.

LBNI holds a Congressional franchise to provide telecommunication and broadcast services via Republic Act 4154, which was approved on June 20, 1964.

DOTC telecoms units back to CICT again

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has completed the transfer of all its communications divisions to the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), following a directive by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Executive Order 780 has ordered the transfer of the Telecommunications Office (Telof) and the Telecommunications Policy and Planning Office back to the CICT.

DOTC Assistant Secretary Lorenzo Formoso III, who heads Telof, will assume a position along with incumbent CICT Commissioners Timoteo Diaz de Rivera, Monchito Ibrahim and Consuelo Perez.

The transfer followed the initial transfer of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to the CICT last January 7.

Incidentally, both the NTC and Telof were transferred from the DOTC to the CICT when it was created through EO 269. The transfer was repealed by EO 603 in 2007 which put the NTC and TELOF back to the control of DOTC.

The latest EO effectively repeals EO 603.

In a telephone interview, Diaz de Rivera said they would still map out the integration of Telof into the organizational structure of the CICT, which would begin in the coming days.

One of the issues in this integration is the transfer of over 4,000 Telof employees under the control of the CICT.

CICT has been involved in the rationalization of Telof operations before it was transferred back to the DoTC.

Diaz de Rivera said the CICT is hoping for the quick passage of a bill creating the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), which has been in the works for several years.

Diaz de Rivera said the proposal has passed at the House of Representatives while the Senate version is on its final reading.

“The creation of the DICT is more permanent and from there we can move on to pursuing IT projects for the government,” Diaz de Rivera said.

The creation of the DICT was proposed when the CICT was created in 2004. By Alexander Villafania - INQUIRER.net

Interconnection of phone lines in Subic, Clark backed

CLARK FREEPORT -- The Angeles City council has endorsed a proposal for the interconnection of phone lines along the Subic-Clark growth corridor in a resolution unanimously approved by its members last Tuesday.

In the resolution sponsored by Councilors Jesus "Jay" Sangil and Ruben Maniago, the members of the city council stated they are "endorsing the move of the Metro Clark Advisory Council (MCAC) to press for the immediate interconnection of telecommunications facilities in Clark Freeport Zone with those in Tarlac and Zambales."

"It would definitely fast-track business undertakings and greatly minimize costs to local residents," Sangil said, referring to the MCAC-initiated project which was earlier lauded by President Arroyo. Sangil likewise called on other officials of local government units (LGUs) situated along the Subic-Clark corridor to support the move, saying this will attract investors and provide jobs for the people.

"I am urging our counterparts in government in the cities, towns along the SCTEx to follow suit and support the same as it will invite investors and eventually create employment for our constituents," Sangil said.

In the resolution, the city council stated that the "Clark Freeport and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Growth Corridor are foreseen as one of the world’s major economic hubs and catalysts for development, hence a major employment generator in North Philippines."

Also, "the development and improvement of infrastructure facilities, including the establishment of state-of-the art telecommunications facilities in the Metro Clark Area (Clark FZ, Pampanga and Tarlac) enhance the viability of the Metro Clark area as a choice investment destination."

The city council noted the importance of providing interconnected telephone exchanges, saying it "is vital in minimizing costs to investors and their clientele that includes government offices."

"Interconnecting telephone exchanges in Metro Clark Area is in keeping with the integration policy of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in which long distance and other toll charges are waived," the resolution also said.

"The general welfare clause of the Local Government Code, among other provisions, obliges us to support moves of major employment generators," it further stated.

In December 2008, President Arroyo bestowed an award on Clark officials led by Clark Development Corp. (CDC) President Benigno N. Ricafort for the telecommunications interconnection project that was one of the top 10 winners in the 1st Gawad Pampublikong Korporasyon (1st GPK).

Ricafort said CDC’s winning entry, which was conceived in 2001, aims to interconnect Clark’s telephone lines to Angeles City and the City of San Fernando, as well as other areas in Pampanga.

He said that the interconnection project was an initiative of the MCAC, "an influential partnership group between the CDC and contingent LGUs within Metro Clark." By FRED ROXAS - Manila Bulletin

Explain expiring loads, telcos told

LAWMAKERS yesterday slammed telecommunication companies for their scheme of putting expiration dates on cellular loads.

The House committee on information and communication technology asked telecom firms to submit within 10 days a written explanation on the scheme.

Representatives of Globe, Smart and Sun Cellular failed to convince the solons of their marketing strategies.

Makati Rep. Teddy Locsin questioned the short life of loads, saying it is not economical for mobile subscribers.

“Why is it that cellular phone loads have a short shelf life? Such scheme forces people to make 50 phone calls so that they will consume the value of the load they have paid,” Locsin said.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino shared the same view and asked why there should be an expiration date for pre-paid phone load.

The solons raised the complaint of many people that a P20 load should be consumed within 24 hours otherwise it will be forfeited.

Meanwhile, the P100 load should only be used within 15 days while a P300 card only lasts for two months.

“Why 90 days, why not six months? We have to consume it or else the money goes to them, hindi naman parang gatas na napapanis ito, electronic naman ito,” Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla said.

The lawmakers said this scheme means more profit for telcos.

Lawyer Froilan Castelo of Globe said the expiring load balance was part of the design of the network to avoid clogging. Lawyer Roy Ibay of Smart said there is a “financial and technical explanation” to the scheme.

Meanwhile, Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon demanded that telcos submit the actual cost of calls.

Solons said that in these hard times, telecoms should not make huge profits out of electronic loads, which is considered the cheapest form of communication. By: Jester P. Manalastas - Journal Online

SBMA TELECOM & ICT LOCATORS

ADVANCED POWER COMPONENTS (PHILS.), INC.
ACES PHILIPPINES CELLULAR CORP.
ACTIVE ALLIANCE, INC.
CHAN SOONG INT’L (SUBIC), INC.
CNP WORLDWIDE, INC.
COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANCY GROUP, INC.
COMOSS ELECTRONICS PHILS. CORP.
COMTEQ COMPUTER & BUSINESS COLLEGE
EAGLE COMTRONICS (PHILS.), INC.
EASTERN TELECOMMUNICATION PHILS., INC.
E-SPIRIT SOLUTIONS, INC.
FREEPORT CABLE, INC.
INFOCOM TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
IDESS INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGY, INC.
KOUSHIN MFG. PHILS., INC.
MABUHAY PHILS. SATELLITE CORP.
MICROSHOP SUBIC, INC.
MOMENTUM DATA EAST-PHILS., INC.
NICERA PJILS., INC.
NIDEC SUBIC PHILS. CORP.
PRINTING IMAGES COAST TO COAST., INC.
PHILIPPINE INTER ELECTRONICS CORP.
PIOL, INC.
PRISM LINK INTERNET Café
SOCIETE INTERNATIONALE DE TELECOMMUNICATIONS AERONAUTIQUES
SUBIC BAY SATELLITE SYSTEMS, INC.
SUBIC WORX, INC.
SANRITSU TECHNOLOGY SUBIC, INC.
SANYO DENKI PHILS., INC.
SINAG PRECISION FABRICATORS, INC.
SUBIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS CO., INC.
TOP MECHATRONICS CORP.
TAO HANG CORP.
WILLIAMS ADVANCED MATERIALS FAR EAST PTE. LTD. PHIL. BRANCH
WINCROSS INFORMTECH LIMITED
WISTRON INFOCOMM (PHILS.) CORP.
YI-PHONE, INC.

Telcos buck new access-code fees

TELECOM companies have opposed the plan of the National Telecommunications Commission to impose fees on telephone access and exchange codes, saying the proposed charges are “exorbitant.”

In a draft circular, the NTC said it will charge P10,000 a year for one 3-digit exchange code and one VoIP prefix code; P8,000 a year for one access code, P5,000 a year for one number code.

Globe Telecom Inc., Digital Telecommunications Phils. Inc. and the Philippine Association of Private Telephone Companies said the fees are “exorbitant” and will translate into additional taxes to be borne by customers.

“[The] P8million annually for each new mobile access code, coupled with the proposed fees on other number codes are significant expenses that regretfully, must be reconciled with telco retail schemes for the sake of business buoyancy,” Froilan M. Castelo, Globe’s head for regulatory affairs, said.

Castelo said that that the new fees may impede the continuing drive for affordable communication, adding that as a substantial contributor to the government revenues, Globe wants NTC to reconsider or stop altogether the plan to impose administrative fees on number codes.

The Globe executive pointed out that numbers should not be the subject of administrative fees as they are not a scarce public resource.

“We disagree with the proposed principle that numbers are like spectrum, and as such are scarce public resources that need to be effectively administered for which user’s fees will be charged,” Castelo said.

Castelo said the 09XX series alone can hold about 8 million numbers. “There are more numbers to go around than the Philippines’ mobile subscriber market can be expected to grow for several generations - potentially forever when traditional numbering finally evolves into NGN [next generation network] or IP-based locators for that matter,” he said.

The NTC imposes fees on the names and numbers to promote the efficient use of such limited resource.

The regulator said the fees will apply to all public telecommunications entities and value added service providers with assigned names and numbers.

These include the three-digit exchange codes used to identify where a subscriber is connected, prefix code for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), access code, number codes in the 1-900 and 1-800. By Darwin G. Amojelar, Manila Times Reporter

Telecoms liberalization a model for services

GENEVA--When talks to open up the telecoms sectors started in 1994, the EU's negotiator did not know what an e-mail was, mobile phones and the Internet were in their infancy, and it was very expensive to call abroad.

But in the 10 years since the Basic Telecommunications Agreement (BTA) came into force in 1998, the sector has seen dramatic and unimagined growth.

Billions of people in rich and poor countries are now connected by mobile phone, new companies and jobs have arisen, and new industries and services are opening up on the back of telecoms, from outsourcing to social networking.

By the end of 2006, mobile phone subscribers had increased 20-fold, and now represent 70 percent of all phone subscribers.

Mobile growth rates are particularly strong in developing countries, running at over 50 percent a year in Africa, the World Trade Organisztion (WTO) said.

"There are more people connected today than we could have dreamed of 10 years ago. Prices have declined. Minutes of use have increased... We have seen new business models develop," said Robert Pepper, head of global advanced technology policy at US network equipment maker Cisco Systems.

"The world has benefited significantly from the BTA and from those market liberalization decisions," Pepper, a former telecoms regulator, told a WTO symposium.

Trade officials and industry officials say the telecoms deal -- which succeeded because trade negotiators and industry regulators worked together -- can serve as a model for opening up other services.

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said he hoped last week's symposium would inspire negotiators in the long-running Doha round to make a "quantum leap" in the services talks.

Telecoms liberalization had particularly marked effects in developing countries.

One study of six emerging markets by consultants Deloitte for Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor estimated that a 10 percent increase in mobile penetration can boost GDP growth rates by 1.2 percentage points.

Rapidly growing mobile phone use fostered by liberalization as new companies, domestic and foreign, enter the market creates jobs and rising revenues for telecoms companies.

That in turn provides tax revenues for governments, raises the incomes of other businesses through enhanced productivity and creates yet more jobs and revenues as the telecoms companies and other businesses buy more services.

Recent average annual growth of mobile subscribers in Ukraine of 70 percent has boosted productivity by 9 percent a year, said Telenor's vice-president for government relations, Harriet Berg.

The example of Ukraine can be mirrored by dozens of developing and transition economies around the world.

Liberalization in Mauritius saw the cost of international calls drop 80 percent and of mobile calls fall by more than 50 percent. The Indian Ocean island is now building up an outsourcing industry on the back of telecoms, said Krishan Oolun of the ICT Authority of Mauritius.

"The fear that this negotiation would only serve the strongest economies has absolutely been demonstrated to be wrong," said Kurt Falkenberg, a top EU trade official who was lead negotiator for Brussels in the talks.

Access to mobile phones has empowered poor people in developing countries, and boosted their incomes.

Farmers can find the best price at different markets before they set off, and are not dependent on middlemen, for example.

Pakistan, which fully liberalized its telecoms market under the BTA, has seen mobile subscribers jump to 79 million from 2.4 million. Telecoms contributed 2 percent to GDP in 2007, or 5 percent including indirect effects, compared with almost nothing before the reform, said Zainab Hussain Siddiqui, senior project manager at the Ministry of Information Technology.

Of course, the reform has enriched companies, too.

Egypt's Orascom Telecom, with operations in several emerging markets that have constantly far outstripped growth expectations, will soon have over 80 million subscribers, more than 150 times what it started with in 1998, said investment and business development officer Michael O'Connor.

India's Tata Communications, which took over an incumbent in 2002, now generates over half its revenues outside India and is active in a range of telecoms services that did not exist six years ago, said head of strategy Srinivasa Addepalli.

And yet the market is far from perfect. Companies still face restrictions on access or ownership in many countries.

At the same time, operators say existing rules on liberalization in telecoms need to be enforced and broadened to ensure continuing growth in the sector as it readies for billions of dollars of investment in next-generation networks.

"That transformation will simply not occur without a global move to removing the remaining barriers to foreign investment in trade in telecommunications," said Tony Warren, head of regulatory affairs at Australia's Telstra.

And as telecoms converge ever faster with information technology, media and content, it must wrestle with new issues such as free speech, hate speech, pornography, public safety and national security. "If we don't, we run the risk that regulators, government officials around the world, will put up their own rules and block connectivity," said Donald Abelson, a communications and trade consultant who was chief US negotiator on the BTA talks.

Operators say the industry's glory years are still to come.

Telenor's Berg points to massive growth potential, given that only 12 percent of Asians are on the Internet, which in turn is increasingly accessed via mobile.

And Telstra has drawn up ambitious plans ranging from remote appliance power management to teleworking and high-definition video-conferencing for countries to exploit telecoms to reduce carbon emissions. By Jonathan Lynn - Reuters

Phone viruses to spread as telecom, computer worlds merge

BARCELONA, Spain--Viruses and hacking on mobile phones are still rare but attacks are a looming danger as increasing numbers of people access the Internet and download files with their handsets, experts say.

A survey released this week at the industry's Mobile World Congress showed that only 2.1 percent of people had been struck by a virus themselves and only 11.6 percent knew someone who had been affected by one.

The poll by IT security specialist McAfee, based on 2,000 people in Britain, the United States and Japan, showed that 86.3 percent had had no experience of mobile phone viruses.

The survey did suggest however that the more developed the mobile market is, with high use of the Internet and downloads, the more likely people were to be hit by bugs.

Virus attacks in Japan, the most developed mobile phone market in the world, were far more commonplace than elsewhere.

"We should look at places like Japan which is where the future of mobile technology is," said Graham Cluley, a consultant at Sophos, another IT security firm.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we saw this problem growing because the phone is going to grow into a sort of mobile computer."

The website www.mobilephoneviruses.com, which tracks incidents of mobile virus infections, lists a handful of examples such as Skulls, Velasco and Commwarrior.

The latter infected about 110,000 phones in Spain last year, attacking phones running Nokia's Symbian operating system. It spread via MMS messages, text messages containing an audio, video or picture file.

"Viruses aren't a huge issue now but they have the potential to be so in the future when Internet use is more widespread," said a telecom analyst at the Forrester market research company, Pete Nuthall.

The industry is keen for phone owners to use their handsets for more than just calls and texting -- for which profits are declining in developed countries -- with Internet and video, games and mapping the basis of new product offerings.

"It's a risk that we should be aware of but one shouldn't make it dramatic and worry people," said Emmanuel Forgues from Russian IT security group Kaspersky. "But it's a risk that exists and is certainly going to develop."

"There are few viruses that attack the operating system now. What people are looking at is how to propogate viruses," Forgues added.

One use of a virus would be to implant something in a user's address book for publicity or fraudulent purposes, for example.

Cluley said there were about 350,000 viruses written to attack computers running Microsoft Windows and about 200 known ones for mobile phone operating systems.

Computer viruses were now being written by organized crime gangs to steal money and personal information, while mobile phone viruses "have tended to be written by kids to show off," he said

A 12-year-old boy wrote a virus for the new Apple iPhone which disables it, "turning it into a brick," said Cluley, and a user had to go to the boy's Internet site and download some software.

This crude bit of malware, which could not spread from phone to phone, was said to be an upgrade for the iPhone's operating system.

At French network operator Orange, a spokesperson explained that "with the convergence of the worlds of IT and telecoms the threat is going to get more and more serious.

"What interest developers is that their viruses spread as much as possible," but the company added that telephones used a number of different operating systems at the present time, make this difficult.

Nuthall predicts that "it'll take one big public mobile phone virus attack to create alarm."

In the future, he expects the network operators like Orange to provide protection to their clients.

"You'll end up seeing operators selling bundled services which include a McAfee solution, for example," he said. Agence France-Presse

Telecom firm wins P17-M tax case vs Pasig City gov’t

Telecom firm wins P17-M tax case vs Pasig City gov’t

By Leila Salaverria - Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines -- Ericsson Telecommunications Inc. has won its tax suit against the Pasig City government after the Supreme Court reinstated a regional trial court’s ruling canceling the more than P17 million business tax deficiency assessed by the local government.

In ruling for the telecommunication firm, the high tribunal said the tax assessments made by the Pasig government were based on the wrong kind of data -- the gross revenue.

The high court said the business tax assessments against Ericsson should have been based on gross receipts.

Gross receipts include money or its equivalent that has actually or constructively been received in exchange for services rendered or articles sold, exchanged or leased.

On the other hand, gross income or revenue refers to money actually or constructively received, including the value of services rendered or articles sold, exchanged or leased, the payment of which is yet to be received.

In this case, Ericsson’s audited financial statements, on which the tax assessment was based, reflected income it was entitled to receive during the taxable period, even though it has not yet been paid the amount.

Hence, the high court said, taxing Ericsson based on gross revenue could lead to taxing the private firm twice for the same transaction.

“The imposition of the local business tax based on petitioner’s gross revenue will inevitably result in the constitutionally proscribed double taxation -- taxing of the same person twice by the same jurisdiction for the same thing -- inasmuch as petitioner’s revenue or income for a taxable year will definitely include its gross receipts already reported during the previous year and for which local business tax has already been paid,” the court said in its Nov. 22 decision.

It also pointed out that under the Local Government Code, Pasig City may impose a business tax on contractors based on gross receipts for the preceding calendar year. The Pasig Revenue Code also provides that the tax should be computed based on gross receipts, it added.

“Thus, respondent [Pasig City] committed a palpable error when it assessed petitioner’s local business tax based on its gross revenue as reported in its audited financial statements,” it said.

The Pasig City government earlier asked Ericsson to pay business taxes based on its gross revenues for the years 1997 and 1998, and 2000 and 2001