The Philippine Competition Commission said Friday it found “reasonable grounds” to probe into the complaints filed by DITO Telecommunity against dominant players Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc.
“The PCC Enforcement Office will look into the allegations in the complaints for possible violations of Section 15 of the Philippine Competition Act pertaining to abuse of dominance. The CEO will also study whether other violations of the PCA pertaining to anti-competitive agreements have been committed,” it said.
It said it would coordinate and consult with the National Telecommunications Commission and other relevant authorities for regulatory and technical considerations.
“The PCC takes complaints of anti-competitive behavior very seriously,” the anti-trust body said.
“Without prejudging the outcome of the CEO’s investigation, the PCC reminds players with substantial market power, not only in the telecommunications industry but across sectors, of their responsibility to compete fairly and to adhere to the principles of competition,” it said.
It said 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.
DITO filed a complaint early this month with PCC against Globe and Smart for allegedly blocking about 70 percent to 80 percent of calls made by subscribers to the rival networks.
DITO chief technology officer Rodolfo Santiago earlier said 70 to 80 of every 100 calls to Smart and Globe were unable to connect. The NTC set a minimum grade service of 1 for every 100 calls.
Globe Telecom and Smart Telecommunications are the the biggest telecommunications players in the Philippines. Both are listed in the Philippine Stocks Exchange.