| MULTIMEDIA Telephony Inc. (MTI), the operating company of Broadband Philippines, favors a proposal by state regulator National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) that requires major phone firms to further open up their networks for other carries, particularly new entrants such as MTI.
MTI chief for corporate services Juan Lorenzo Taٌada said this move by the NTC "…will give teeth" to the Public Telecoms Policy Act, or Republic Act 7925, particularly with respect to the mandatory interconnection aspects of the law.
"We would like to extend to the Commission our full support for all the laudable aims and objectives of the proposed memorandum circular… This is timely, relevant, and in keeping with the mandate of the NTC to foster a healthy competitive environment in the telco sector," Taٌada said.
Taٌada observes that the current state in interconnection process is "in a manner of speaking, very much akin to pulling teeth."
The NTC is currently seeking comments from industry stakeholders on the draft circular which requires carriers to submit a reference access offer (RAO).
RAO is the new template on interconnection agreement that spells out the terms and conditions under which a carrier provides access to fixed and mobile networks and Internet and broadband services among others.
"This proposed circular is intended to provide a regulatory measure to expedite negotiations, ensure that the terms and conditions of access are transparent, fair and reasonable, and minimize access-related disputes," said the NTC.
MTI earlier said it is about to conclude negotiation for an interconnection with Globe Telecom. A similar agreement it has with Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. will soon be in place.
After the NTC awarded it with nationwide broadband licenses, MTI sold its paging division to Easycall in 1999 and, in early 2000, sold its call- center business to concentrate on its broadband projects.
The company's network is now made up of wireless transmitters that can provide high-speed data and voice access, virtual private networks, Web-hosting, Internet data centers and e-business applications.
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