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Bayan
Telecommunications Inc. finally launched its cellular
service eight years since it first obtained its permit
to operate a cellular mobile telephone system (CMTS).
“We
launched our cellular service that runs on a GSM [global
system for mobile communications] platform in May,”
Bayan chief executive consultant Tunde Fafunwa said in
an interview last week.
Bayan’s
CMTS brand is called Bayan Mobile. The company sells SIM
(subscriber identification module) cards for P600. “The
monthly subscription fee of a Bayan postpaid service is
P450,” said Bayan vice president for corporate brand and
communications John Rojo.
Unlike
Smart Communications Inc., Globe Telecom and Sun
Cellular, Bayan Mobile sells its GSM service minus the
handsets. “We sell postpaid subscription of Bayan Mobile
via a postpaid SIM without the handset. We believe
potential subscribers out there already own one or two
handsets,” added Rojo in a separate interview.
Besides,
Bayan is still working on the interconnection agreements
with other GSM operators. A subscriber of one network
cannot contact another subscriber of a different network
without interconnection. For now, Bayan Mobile can only
make calls and send text messages within the network,
including Bayan Wireless Landline network, which, to
date, has registered over 160,000 subscribers.
To make
Bayan Mobile competitive, Fafunwa said the phone unit of
Benpres Holdings Corp. will soon offer GSM subscription
on top of its wireless landline service using a single
handset. Bayan is still in talks with vendors regarding
the type of handset that will be deployed for both its
GSM and wireless landline service.
Bayan’s
wireless landline service makes use of CDMA (code
division multiple access) technology while its permit to
go into CMTS authorizes it to use a GSM platform. The
GSM technology is what mobile-phone giants Smart and
Globe currently use.
“Our
CDMA is based on the 1900 bandwidth while our GSM is on
the 1800 spectrum. Our wireless landline infrastructure
utilizes very advance technology in such a way that we
can mix and match services in one platform,” said
Fafunwa.
He
added: “Our wireless landline is still our focus and we
will utilize that as a launching path for additional GSM
service services. It is safe to say that our cellular
service will be offered in tandem with our wireless
landline offering. There are handsets now with two SIM
slots,” he said.
Bayan’s
license to provide CMTS was first granted on May 3,
2000, and was later extended for 18 months or until
November 2002. Last April, the National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC) granted Bayan a
second extension, up to November 3, 2010. However, it
required the company to start its CMTS offering within a
year, or 12 months from the date of its acceptance of
its extended authority.
The NTC
required Bayan to cover at least 80 percent of all
provincial cities in the country including all chartered
cities in seven years. The company’s facilities shall be
inspected by the NTC to determine compliance.
During
its commercial operation, Bayan should submit to the NTC
a quarterly report regarding its operations, including
the number of subscribers, traffic data, service
interruptions and causes, manpower compliments and other
technical, legal or financial data.
After a
year from commercial launch, Bayan shall submit a
financial statement of actual results of operation for
further evaluation.
The
company is required to set aside annually not less than
5 percent of the value of its depreciable property from
its operating income. The amount shall be kept in a
reserve fund to compensate for the physical depreciation
of the system. |
