Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. has asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to compel DITO Telecommunity Corp. to pay a whopping P622 million over its alleged failure to comply with their interconnection deals.
Globe said Tuesday the penalty was for the fraudulent calls placed through DITO’s network to Globe that bypassed proper voice traffic channels from July 2021 to July 2022. The Daily Tribune has reached out to the NTC for confirmation of Globe’s letter, but the agency has not responded as of press time.
“An average of 1,000 fraudulent calls — identified as international in origin but masked as local calls — are allowed to pass through DITO’s network to Globe users every day, in violation of interconnecting rules,” Globe said in a statement sent to the media on Tuesday.
“DITO’s twin failures to check these bypass activities and pay Globe what it is justly due have worked on a continuing serious prejudice against Globe. Moreover, these unabated illegal activities have placed the interconnection trunks at serious risk of abuse and the resultant undue congestion of the network, to the detriment of the subscribers.”
Globe’s statement came a day after DITO Telecommunity filed separate cases against it and rival PLDT, Inc. over the two companies’ alleged “abuse of dominant position” that has hindered the third telco’s growth.
In response to Globe’s demand, DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said the calls in question “are not made by DITO.”
“These are fraudulent calls made by third parties — and DITO is equally a victim of such calls. Additionally, there are also ISR (International Simple Resale) calls from Globe to DITO. It is not true that DITO has not taken steps to stop ISR calls to Globe. We have the data and the facts to show the steps undertaken by DITO to minimize these ISR calls,” Tamano said.
“Fourthly, giving due respect to the NTC, it is not a collection agency and if Globe has any monetary claims against DITO, Globe should go to the proper tribunal to enforce their claims,” he added.
Amid the squabble, Globe said it remains “true to its interconnectivity deals with DITO, including domestic voice and SMS in November 2020, landline in March 2021, and the Cellular Mobile Telephone Systems International Gateway Facility (CMTS – IGF) in September 2021.”
Under Republic Act 7925, the interconnection agreements allow local voice and text traffic to pass between users of the two networks, and also international mobile calls through DITO’s and Globe’s international partners or via roaming service.