Globe wants DITO to pay P622-M interconnection penalty; DITO says they are victims of fraud calls

Globe Telecom Inc. on Tuesday said it had asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to compel DITO Telecommunity to pay P622 million in interconnection penalties.

In a statement, Globe said the penalties were due to fraudulent calls placed through DITO's network to Globe, bypassing proper voice traffic channels.

“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 interconnect rules,” the Ayala-led telco said.

Globe said the penalty covers one year - from July 2021 to July 2022.

In response, DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said the calls in question “are not made by DITO.”

“Rather, these are fraudulent calls made by third parties – and DITO is equally a victim of such calls. Additionally, there are also ISR 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 (International Simple Resale) calls,” Tamano said.

“[G]iving 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 said.

Globe said that DITO had not only failed to compensate Globe, but also did not take any serious actions to curtail bypass activities emanating from its network.

“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 said.

The Ayala-led telco’s announcement came a day after DITO said it filed cases before the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) against major rivals Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc., accusing them of abuse of dominance.

Globe said they had remained true to its interconnectivity deals with DITO, including a domestic voice and SMS agreement in November 2020, a landline deal in March 2021, and the Cellular Mobile Telephone Systems International Gateway Facility (CMTS - IGF) deal in September 2021.

These agreements allow local voice and text traffic to pass between users of the two networks and international mobile calls through DITO’s and Globe’s international partners or via roaming service.

The Republic Act 7925 or “An act to promote and govern the development of Philippine telecommunications and the delivery of public telecommunications services” carries a provision for compulsory interconnection among all providers.

The law aims to create a universally accessible and fully integrated nationwide telecom network to encourage more infrastructure investments from the private sector that would benefit consumers. — DVM, GMA News