THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is expected to finish its evaluation next week on the proposed sale and transfer of Bayan Telecommunications Inc.’s assets to Multi-Media Telephony Inc. (MTI).
“The CCAD [Common Carrier Authorization Division] is currently evaluating the application. Whatever the recommendation is will be forwarded to us very soon then we will decide on it,” said NTC commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba.
The CCAD is tasked to evaluate the financial capabilities of Bayan and MTI, as well as the technical and economic viability of the proposed transaction. Upon submission of CCAD’s evaluation and recommendation, the application shall be deemed submitted for resolution.
Bayan and MTI need to secure the regulator’s go-ahead before the sale and transfer agreement takes effect. Both companies filed for an omnibus application for authority to transfer of the local exchange carrier services (LEC), with request for the issuance of provisional authority and a certificate of public convenience and necessity, in favor of MTI.
The CCAD started evaluating the joint application immediately after the companies submitted the supporting documents on May 20.
Among the documents include a copy of the sale and transfer agreement, incorporation papers, and rehabilitation court’s resolution approving the sale of Bayan’s CDMA (code division multiple access) equipment to MTI. Bayan is required to seek the court’s approval since it was placed under rehabilitation for unpaid debts amounting to $325 million.
“The purpose of this submission is to prove that Bayan and MTI each has the requisite legal capacity to enter into agreements for the sale and transfer of its WWL [wireless local loop] assets and related rights and interests to MTI; that MTI has the legal capacity to take over the LEC operations of Bayan; to prove that the required corporate approvals have been obtained; and that the rehabilitation court has issued a resolution approving the sale and transfer of Bayan’s CDMA telco equipment to MTI,” said Bayan.
In their application, Bayan and MTI have agreed to undertake a joint operation and management of their network systems in preparation for the seamless transfer of the WLL.
“To cause the smooth, orderly and seamless transfer, and to avoid any disruption in the interconnection with other carriers while a phased transfer is being effected, common usage, operations and maintenance of the network elements of Bayan and MTI is necessary,” they told the NTC.
The common usage, operations and maintenance of the network elements of Bayan and MTI includes but is not limited to the following: interconnection trunks, Bayan’s assigned CDMA frequencies in the 1900-megahertz band, maintenance and monitoring systems, and Bayan’s numbering plan.
The deal between Bayan and MTI involves the sale, assignment and transfer of all Bayan’s rights and interest used in its WLL service by MTI. These include licenses, permits, and other authorities Bayan has secured for its WLL service.
The WLL service of Bayan is marketed as Bayan Wireless Landline. The company’s WLL system uses a CDMA platform, the same technology being used by MTI to deliver its local exchange service via WLL.
MTI is the first telco which rolled out a wireless landline service using a CDMA platform.
MTI will also assume all of Bayan’s liabilities and obligations with its more than 200,000 WLL subscribers.
Once the deal is approved by the regulators, MTI will operate the WLL service under its own franchise.
The transaction, officials said, will benefit both companies and their subscribers as “wasteful duplication of redundancies of facilities and resources will be eliminated” thereby enabling both of them to provide better services to the public at affordable rates.
