By Tom S. Noda
Computerworld Philippines
July 4, 2006

National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) chief Roland Solis said the commission is ready to defend before Congress the amount of license fees it charged to four telecommunications companies to operate third-generation or 3G services.

Representatives Simeon Kintanar (Cebu, 2nd district, NPC) and Danilo Suarez (Quezon, 3rd district, LP), chairpersons of the House of Representatives’ committees on ICT and Oversight, respectively, earlier expressed doubts on whether the NTC followed the law in granting 3G licenses last December.

NTC chairman Roland Solis said in an interview that the commission is ready to defend the amount of 3G user spectrum fees it charged to service providers Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, Digital Telecommunications (Digitel), and newcomer CURE (Connectivity Unlimited Resources, Enterprises, Inc.).

The commission reportedly earned P2.3 billion but according to lawmakers, the amount is significantly less than what is charged in other countries that have rolled out 3G and that the government could have earned at least P15 billion if bidding was conducted.

Solis added the NTC is likewise ready to defend its decision to reject the applications of five other service providers namely, Bayan Telecommunications Inc., AZ Network Communications Inc., Pacific Wireless, Media Telephony and Next Mobile.

In its decision, the NTC ruled that the above-mentioned operators are “unqualified” to deliver 3G services. Since the number of qualified applicants is less than the five spectrum allotments, NTC argues there is no need to conduct bidding.

Reps. Kintanar and Suarez, along with other members of their respective committees, asked the NTC to consider reviewing the license fees paid by four players to determine if these were “fair and reasonable.”

“We are ready to deliberate on it but we just don’t want to be discourteous to the congressmen because we are still being investigated. But we are ready,” Solis said in reference to the license fees.

According to him, the commission is currently reviewing the rates it is charging for the entire frequency spectrum, not just 3G.

“We are thinking if there is a need for us to increase the fees at this time, not just on 3G but on all spectrum usages like UMTS, WiMax, and Wi-Fi,” he said.

Regarding the request for review of qualifications of 3G applicants, Solis said NTC has already done the “groundwork” but is yet to deliberate on it.

Asked about Suarez’s earlier warning that NTC officials could face graft charges if it does not abolish the 3G licenses, Solis refused to comment and added, “I can’t comment on that. I would rather wait for the (committee) report.”

Email the author at tsnoda@computerworld.com.ph.

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