NTC sets rate for Smart, Nextel calls

In an attempt to resolve the ongoing dispute between cellular phone leader Smart Communications Inc. and digital trunked radio operator Nextel of Infocom Communications Network Inc., the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has set an interim amount that will be charged for calls to and from the two networks.

The commission, in its four-page order, said that the temporary interconnect charges should be P1.50 or 50 percent of the lowest rate per minute being imposed by mobile phone operators on their subscribers.

The NTC decision is expected to pave the way for full interconnection of the networks of both parties.

At present, while Smart customers can call Nextel, subscribers of the latter are being barred from reaching Smart.

Smart claimed that since Nextel is not a cellular phone operator, it is not entitled to a share of revenues from calls between the two networks, an argument which Nextel branded as unfair.

The NTC, though, stressed that it is only right that interconnecting parties must compensate each other.

Moreover, interconnection is mandated by the law and while Nextel could technically stand alone, it is required to link its telephone service with the public switched telephone network (PSTN) of all carriers in order for users of one network to have access to other customers of the service wherever they may be in the country, NTC said.

According to the NTC, only after Smart and Nextel are able to provide the commission with their respective cost data can regulatory body be able to determine what the permanent charges should be.

Smart and Nextel were already directed to submit all the necessary financial documents showing the incremental costs of their networks within the month.

In the meantime, the NTC said that the two firms must equally share the expenses for interconnect facilities and that the equipment needed to carry the interconnect traffic shall be the responsibility of each carrier.

Although Nextel's franchise is as trunked radio provider, the firm markets its handsets as a three-in-one productivity tool that offers not only two-way radio for instant private or group communications but also paging and cellular phone features.

Depending on the monthly plan subscribed to, Nextel collects a minimum one-minute airtime rate for calls to cellular phones or landlines ranging from P4.50 to P8.95.

The two firms have been negotiating for an interconnection agreement since October but talks were stalled due to the issue of airtime and access charges.