Dito accuses competitors of violating antitrust law
Dito telecommunity Corp. has sued both Smart Communications inc. and Globe telecom inc. for allegedly abusing their dominant positions by purportedly imposing commercial demands for interconnection.
The third telco filed the cases before the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) on monday morning, according to Dito Chief Administrative officer Adel Tamano.
“When our competitors do acts that are anti-competitive that abuse their dominant positions, we are constrained to seek redress,” he said in a press briefing monday. “It is on behalf of these 11 million subscribers that we are filing these cases with the PCC.”
Tamano said the cases stem from the limited capacity that both Smart and Globe provided Dito for interconnectivity. In a nutshell, interconnectivity allows subscribers to call from one operator to another.
In the case of Dito, Tamano said Dito subscribers are finding it hard to call Smart and Globe subscribers because the interconnectivity capacity was not enough.
The quality of interconnectivity is measured by the so-called grade of service, a metric set by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
under the metric, Tamano said, telcos are given a leeway of having one out of 100 calls not interconnected. but in Dito’s case, only 20 to 30 calls to other networks push through.
“It is unfair for our subscribers because when Smart and Globe call us, they’re able to get through,” he said.
Dito sued both Smart and Globe for allegedly violating Section 15b and 15c of the Philippine Competition Act.
both provisions pertain to the abuse of dominant positions by imposing barriers to entry or committing acts that prevent competitors from growing in the market and making a transaction subject to acceptance by the other parties even without connection with the transaction.
Tamano refused to divulge the supposed transaction, but said that Smart and Globe are asking for “certain commercial concessions.”
PCC OIC Chairperson Johannes bernabe confirmed that the commission has received the complaints on monday.
“Interconnection is an essential component of the telecommunications industry as it allows interoperability and exchange of calls, SMS, and other information from one network to another. As such, our Competition enforcement office [Ceo] is now evaluating the merits of Dito’s complaints,” bernabe said.
The commission has 10 days within which to decide whether or not to give due course to the complaint.
“If given due course, our Ceo will proceed to investigate the charges and if it subsequently finds sufficient basis, file with the Commission en banc a Statement of objections against the allegedly erring entities,” bernabe said, noting that the agency will also consult with the NTC for “related regulatory concerns.”
Dito is seeking compensatory damages, as the lack of interconnection has resulted in losses — both in subscribers and revenues — for Dito. It did not specify how much it is seeking from its competitors.
Tamano said Dito first tried to reach an amicable settlement with its competitors. The company has sought the NTC’S help since September last year to settle the issue.
“The NTC has been incredibly helpful. They have sought for us to go through mediation…yet despite all our efforts they have refused to provide genuine interconnection.”
Currently, Dito has about 11.4 million subscribers and is targeting to end the year with at least 12 million subscribers.
When sought for comment, both Smart and Globe said they have yet to receive a copy of the complaint.
“We do not have a copy of the complaint yet, until such time we will refrain from issuing a statement,” Globe SVP yolanda Crisanto said via phone.
For its part, Smart parent PLDT Inc. said: “We are yet to receive a copy of the complaint, but we can assure the government and the public that PLDT and Smart have always supported and ensured fair competition in the telco industry.”