‘Outdated telco laws need to be integrated’

by Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), 28 May 2021

Globe cites possible conflict with Open Access bill
MANILA, Philippines — Globe Telecom Inc. is calling for the integration of all existing telco laws into one comprehensive law to avoid conflicting provisions that may result from the passage of the Open Access in Data Transmission Bill.

“Organizing outdated laws on telecommunications in one comprehensive law will prevent conflicting provisions,” Globe senior legal counsel Ariel Tubayan said.

Tubayan said the Open Access bill offers no clarity in terms of foreign ownership restrictions, noting that any law lifting such restrictions would require an amendment of the economic provisions of the Constitution.

He said the proposed legislation also does not expressly repeal Section 16 of Republic Act (RA) 7925, which requires a congressional franchise to operate as a public telecommunications entity.

Tubayan said data transmission falls squarely within the definition of telecommunications under RA 7925.

The bill also does not seek the revocation of Section 1 of Republic Act 3846, which requires a franchise to operate a radio station or use radio frequencies.

Vertically integrated telcos like Globe use the same network for carrying voice and data traffic.

Tubayan said if the Open Access bill is passed, it would result in a situation where telcos would be constrained to comply with two separate and conflicting laws – one for voice and another for data.

Voice will require a franchise, while data will be exempt from such requirement.

Tubayan said such dual legal governance would negate the technology neutrality principle under RA 7925 because data traffic would be favored over circuit switched traffic.

“The Open Access bill contains many aspirational objectives that greatly depend on a strong and independent National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). Moreover, it discriminates on what may be the subject of co-use and collocation because it excludes spectrum use from resources that may freely be shared,” Tubayan said.

Globe said there are three current versions of the proposed bill.One is pending before the House of Representatives, which has passed second reading, but reconsidered for some amendments.

At the Senate, there are two versions, separately filed by Senators Ralph Recto and Bong Revilla.

The Ayala-led telco said all versions aim to carve out data transmission from the coverage of telecommunications, which, under existing laws, are considered public utilities that are subject to foreign ownership restrictions and require a congressional franchise.

“There is a need to strengthen the regulatory powers of the NTC by making it an independent body, with fixed terms of office, similar to the Energy Regulatory Commission. It is also a must to strengthen its power to recall frequencies from those who sit on them, those who do not use the radio frequency allocated to them,” Tubayan said.

The Open Access in Data Transmission Bill seeks to liberalize the industry by lowering barriers to market entry, fast-track and lower the cost of deploying broadband facilities, promote infrastructure sharing, and make spectrum management more fair and transparent.