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THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has ordered the
telecom unit of JG Summit Holdings, Inc. to pay a penalty of P200
for each day it blocked Internet access of Eastern
Telecommunications Philippines, Inc.’s customers.
In an order dated June 11, the regulator said it
found Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. liable for
violating its rules on the interconnection of local exchange
carriers.
The NTC has ordered Digitel to pay P200 for each
day of violation or a total of P268, 400, saying “Digitel’s
intentional and unilateral blocking of the access numbers being used
by ETPI is a clear violation of [NTC’s ruling].”
The regulator also directed Digitel to
immediately unblock the access of the subscribers to the Go!
Internet Cards access numbers and to open all blocked circuits with
ETPI.
ETPI filed a complaint more than two years ago
against Digitel because it allegedly received numerous complaints
from its Go! Internet cards customers on their inability to connect
with the Internet access number 300-9886 or even the alternative
numbers 300-6868 and 301-9886 using their Digitel-provided
landlines.
Digitel explained it blocked ETPI’s access
number because the congestion caused by local interconnection has
disrupted its service to its voice subscribers.
The NTC said Digitel’s admission “is a
voluntary acknowledgement in express terms or by implication, by a
party interest or by another by whose statement he is legally bound,
against his interest, of the existence or truth of a fact in dispute
material to the issue.”
The regulator also noted the lack of
commitment on the part of Digitel to solve the congestion problem.
“Penultimately, the totality of the
circumstances surrounding the persuasion made by Digitel to its
subscribers to use GAS Internet prepaid cards instead of
complainants Go! prepaid Internet cards support the intent of
Digitel to block the access numbers [of ETPI],” the NTC said.
-- Darwin G. Amojelar
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