PLDT, AT&T talks end in stalemate

The first round of talks between US carrier AT&T and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) initiated by the former to find a solution to the current impasse regarding the increased charges imposed by Philippine carriers on foreign calls ended in a stalemate as both parties refused to give in to each other’s demands.

This as PLDT officials revealed that they are now contemplating on filing charges against AT&T and MCI/WorldCom after the two US carriers failed to pay $4.8 million and $2.5 million in charges for services rendered by PLDT within the period given them.

Another meeting is scheduled probably in Manila very soon but PLDT officials are pessimistic that any agreement will be reached unless the US carriers pay what they owe Philippine carriers for services already rendered.

The STAR learned that during the recent talks held in Hong Kong, PLDT negotiators said there will be no interim or commercial agreements as to new termination charges until after AT&T pays the $4.8 million it owes PLDT.

On the one hand, AT&T insisted that the order issued by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) international bureau, headed by Donald Abelson, precludes them from making any payments to US carriers.

Abelson, in his order, directed all facilities-based US carriers, including AT&T and WorldCom, not to make any payments to Philippine carriers until services to the two American carriers are restored.

Philippine carriers have until the end of the month to appeal the Abelson order to the US FCC en banc. They claim that the bureau issued the order in excess of its authority since only the FCC en banc can decide on the merits.

Earlier, PLDT board member and legal team head Ray Espinosa told The STAR that AT&T will have to find a way to reverse the Abelson order. But in the Hong Kong talks, AT&T categorically stated that it will not have the FCC bureau order reversed.

It was also learned that AT&T continued to insist that it will only agree to termination rates that are lower than the rates that expired last Jan. 31. From eight to nine cents a minute for US calls to Philippine landlines and 12 cents for calls to mobile networks, Philippine telcos increased the rate effective last Feb. 1 to 12 cents and 16 cents, respectively. And according to local telcos, including PLDT, they have no plans of rolling back their rates.

Espinosa said yesterday that both AT&T and WorldCom have realized that the Abelson order had made it less flexible to come up with a solution. "They are not in a position to pay and we are not in a position to accept calls from them until they pay," he stressed.

He also said that contrary to AT&T’s claim, calls from the US are still able to reach the Philippines, although not through direct channels. "What is now being done is that the calls are being sent first to other foreign networks like in Europe or Canada or Singapore which in turn terminates the calls in the Philippines," Espinosa explained.