Dominant phone operators Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. have “no reason” to limit or cut their interconnection with DITO Telecommunity on fraudulent calls or ISR (international simple resale) activities, according to a former commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
Former NTC chief Eliseo Rio said ISR activities have long been a problem in the market since his stint at the NTC in the early 2000s. But he said ISR activities “were never used to restrict interconnection between and among telcos.”
Rio said interconnection is “paramount” than telecom companies’ feud over debts arising from supposed fraudulent international calls.
Citing Executive Order No. 59 issued by late President Fidel Ramos in 1993, Rio said the directive mandated that “the interconnection between NTC-approved telcos shall be compulsory.”
“If it’s an interconnection issue, then there should be no other reason why the telcos should prevent another telco to interconnect with it. In this particular case, that is the issue being propounded by DITO,” Rio said in a TV interview.