NTC urged to recall BellTel frequency

MANILA, Philippines - Trans Digital Excel Inc. (TDE), the majority shareholder of Express Telecommunications Co. Inc., has urged the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to recall the frequencies assigned to Bell Telecommunications Philippines and to reallocate them for cellular mobile telephone service (CMTS) use.

The NTC earlier dismissed an administrative case filed for the revocation of the wireless local loop frequency assigned to BellTel as recommended by the agency’s Frequency Management Division (FMD).

BellTel was assigned the frequencies in 1998 within the 1710-1720 and 1805-1815 MHz band to set up a wireless local loop, a wireless communications link for the traditional telephone service. TDE, however, pointed out that the frequencies have not been used by the company for the past 11 years.

TDE legal counsel Plaridel Bohol II pointed out that such scarce resource should not be left idle and should instead be reallocated for use by cellular mobile telecommunications system since there are not enough frequencies for this popular service.

“BellTel’s assigned frequencies in 1998 is for a wireless local loop which has been rendered virtually obsolete by current technology and should thus be put to different use,” Bohol said.

He noted that BellTel had intended, but never even purchased suitable equipment for only two local stations in Makati and Biñan, Laguna 11 years after being assigned the frequency.

“Why should the frequency be held hostage by a company with little or no plan to use it when it can be put to much better use by others for GSM,” Bohol said, adding that, this way, the frequencies will be optimally utilized nationwide instead of the local reach of two small stations.

He said the frequency band 1710-1720/1805-1815 MHz has been identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a suitable frequency for GSM and a considerable majority of countries have allocated, and are, in fact, using the 1710-1720/1805-1815 MHz band for CMTS.

“This means that the CMTS technology platforms operating on this band have attained considerable maturity that it is now possible to deploy a CMTS network on the said frequency,” he pointed out.

Bohol said a CMTS reallocation will earn the government significantly more of the much-needed revenues in the form of spectrum user fees (SUF), noting that BellTel still has unpaid SUF.

NTC’s FMD wanted to recall BellTel’s frequencies for not seeking construction permits for 11 years for almost all of the 87 stations it was supposed to put up when NTC rules provide that the frequencies be recalled if not used within one year.

The FMD included BellTel’s frequencies in the list of candidates for recall following an order by then Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza to make an inventory of frequencies and recall those that are being “hoarded,” because they remain unused or under-utilized by companies that only wish to speculate and make a quick profit.