PLDT Concerned About New Bill Focused on Data Transmission

Major telecommunications provider PLDT Inc. is seeking clarification regarding the proposed Open Access in Data Transmission Act. The telco firm urged lawmakers to distinguish data transmission players from telecommunications companies. The Open Access in Data Transmission Act (House Bill No. 8910) aims to reduce the cost of internet services in the country while promoting fair and open competition.

However, PLDT corporate secretary and chief legal counsel Marilyn A. Victorio-Aquino noted that the bill is also set to “open the data transmission industry to data transmission participants who will be allowed to own and operate a network without obtaining a franchise, or a certificate of public convenience, or a provisional authority, unlike the telcos.”

“When a data transmission industry player owns and operates a network, it will be allowed to compete for the scarce frequencies which are available to players like us,” added Victorio-Aquino. “When that happens, you ask yourselves, so what happens between the business of a data transmission player and the telcos when they can operate and own a network and they can compete [for] our frequency? There’s not much difference.”

“So, why will they be treated differently? Why will they be allowed to operate and conduct business without obtaining a franchise and a certificate of public convenience and necessity?” she argued further. “Both requirements are imposed on telcos, which somehow restrict our operations in such a way that these regulators subject us to. So, these are the questions that need to be asked in case this bill is reintroduced in the new Congress.”

The House of Representatives approved House Bill No. 8910 earlier on July 28 of last year. The Senate then received the bill the day after. Local business groups and foreign chambers have, likewise, pushed the 18th Congress to pass the bill before transitioning to the following administration. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has also expressed its support for the proposed legislation.

Furthermore, this particular bill is also geared to avoid dominance by a single player in the data transmission industry. It states that “there should be at least two providers at any given layer.” The bill also entrusts the DICT — alongside the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) — to “promote infrastructure sharing and co-location” through the declaration of necessary policies and regulations.

Source: BusinessWorld