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PILIPINO
Telephone Corp. (Piltel) is asking the National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to dismiss
Multimedia Telephony Inc.’s (MTI) opposition to its
application for a permit to operate a nationwide
data-communications network.
Smart-controlled Piltel cited a Supreme Court order
which states that a reduction in earnings is not
sufficient to prove ruinous competition. Piltel is one
of the country’s cellular mobile-phone service
providers.
“MTI’s
allegations cannot take place the proof as to establish
there would be too many players competing over too small
a market,” said the company.
According to the High Tribunal’s order cited by Piltel,
“Ruinous competition exists when the opponent would be
deprived of fair profits on the capital invested in its
business. It must be shown that the business would not
have sufficient gains to pay a fair rate of interest on
its capital investment.”
MTI, the
operating company of Broadband Philippines, is blocking
Piltel’s application filed before the NTC for the
issuance of a provisional authority (PA) to construct,
install, operate and maintain a nationwide
data-communications system saying its entry will result
in ruinous competition.
“The
grant of an authorization to another carrier to provide
basically the same service will strain the financial
viability of the carriers now presently providing
similar services. Moreover, there is no immediate public
need that this application would address as the limited
market is fully covered by the existing operators with
plenty to spare,” MTI had said.
Piltel
also told the commission that it will submit soon the
legal, technical and financial papers needed to support
its application for a PA and a certificate of public
convenience and necessity (CPCN).
“NTC
Circular 9-14-90 does not mandate that these be
submitted together with the application only, but that
these may be submitted subsequently in a motion.
Likewise, the circular itself does not fix a
reglementary period for the submission of these
requirements,” said Piltel.
MTI had
said Piltel’s application is not entitled to the grant
of a PA after having failed to comply with the NTC
circular.
MTI is a
provider of data services and also holds a CPCN to
install, operate and maintain an Internet protocol
access node as well as a provisional authority to
install, operate and maintain a nationwide broadband
network, among others.
The
company was originally engaged in paging network and
call-center operations before it shifted to the local
exchange telephone business. After it was awarded by the
NTC with a nationwide broadband license, MTI sold its
paging division to Easycall in 1999 and in early 2000
and also its call-center business in order to
concentrate on new broadband projects. The company’s
network is now made up of wireless transmitters capable
of providing high-speed data and voice access, virtual
private networks, web hosting, Internet data centers and
e-business applications. |
