PLDT insists Globe deal with Bayantel to pose unfair competition

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the country’s biggest telecommunications provider, insists that rival Globe Telecom’s acquisition of Bayan Telecommunications Inc. (Bayantel) would result in “unfair” competition.

PLDT, which earlier obtained a temporary restraining order from the Court of Appeals that effectively blocked a Bayantel takeover by Globe, restated parts of the order in a statement, saying it “has a clear right to be protected.”

The statement was in apparent reaction to recent announcements by Globe, which noted that PLDT efforts to block the deal would delay improvements to Bayantel’s about 350,000 customers.

The Court of Appeals’ TRO specifically prevents the National Telecommunications Commission from acting on a joint Globe-Bayantel application aimed at allowing Globe to convert Bayantel debts into equity. The conversion of those debts would allow Globe to take a controlling stake in Bayantel, which is undergoing corporate rehabilitation.

“It is the position of both PLDT and Smart (Communication) that the arrangement circumvents pertinent laws and regulations regarding the assignment, allocation, or use of radio frequencies that call for the public auction of the contested radio frequencies which remained idle for over 10 years,” PLDT said.

“It should be noted that Bayantel’s franchise also specifically prohibits the transfer, sale or assignment of any right or privilege granted to it without the approval of Congress,” PLDT added.

PLDT previously said the issue stemmed from an earlier position it took against an agreement between Bayantel and Globe for the joint use of frequencies. PLDT unit Smart earlier argued that the Bayantel frequencies should have been recalled by the NTC and auctioned off as these were not being used before the agreement with Globe was sealed.

But the NTC allowed the sharing arrangement, saying this would ease network congestion and translate to better quality of services.

As noted, the TRO delays any move by Globe to acquire Bayantel.