NTC releases rules on mobile phone interconnection

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) wants to require dominant mobile phone service providers such as PLDT, Globe Telecom and Digitel to treat smaller non-dominant service providers on a “non-discriminatory basis” and allow them access at rates the big networks normally provide to themselves and their affiliates.

This requirement was among the provisions in the draft implementing rules and regulations (IRRs) the NTC has proposed on interconnection among mobile phone service providers in the country.

Jorge Sarmiento, NTC deputy commissioner, stressed that the IRR was just a draft from which they hope to get the views of current industry players.

“That’s a draft…We’ll still have consultations with industry stakeholders before we come out with a final IRR,” Sarmiento told The STAR.

The draft IRR on interconnection among mobile phone service providers is said to be based on an earlier memorandum-circular on reference access offer (RAO), which serves as the interconnection template among telecommunications players, access providers and access seekers.

The NTC has issued the memorandum-circular and the IRRs primarily as part of an overall competition policy, which seeks to deregulate and liberalize further the domestic telecommunications sector and promote greater transparency among the players.

Sarmiento said the IRRs will be subjected to consultations among the industry stakeholders before they are completed and become operational by early next year.

It will be recalled that the mobile phone communications industry is dominated by three players namely Smart of PLDT, Globe Telecoms, and Sun of Digitel Corp., with smaller players at their mercy especially on interconnection.

Describing “effective and efficient interconnection” as the “key to sustainable competition” in the telecommunications industry, the draft IRR described RAO as containing “the prices, terms and conditions, including technical information, ordering and provisioning procedures and service level details, of the network access that a public telecommunications carrier proposes to provide to other service providers.”

The IRRs also requires “transparency of all interconnection agreements” since this would reduce “access-related disputes,” thus protecting non-dominant service providers against “discrimination and abuse of market power by dominant providers.”

The IRRs require networks to provide access under the following: “fair and reasonable terms, conditions and prices”; in a “sufficiently unbundled manner so that the access seeker does not pay for network components or facilities that it does not require”; in a timely fashion; and for “transparent and cost-based charges.”

As part of the obligations in RAO development, the draft IRRs also require networks to submit to the NTC a RAO for each of the access of applicable services as specified by the NTC within 90 days from the IRRs’ date of effectivity.

Under the draft IRRs, the NTC has identified 16 areas of interconnection, which include those between fixed and wireless lines, and broadband connections.