The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said it will review the acquisition by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. of JG Summit Inc’s mobile unit Digital Telecommunication Inc to protect consumers against monopoly and a sudden spike in telecom service prices.
NTC deputy commissioner Carlo Jose A. Martinez said that the regulator has yet to receive PLDT’s formal application to acquire Digitel.
“We still have the right to review the sale whether to approve it or not,” he said.
The sale “may improve the telecoms services or, the other way around, maybe it can affect the consumers – prices can go up. That’s why the NTC is here to review the sale to protect the consumers,” he added.
PLDT expects the sale of Digitel will be completed by June 30 after securing the approvals from the NTC, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
Martinez said the NTC will conduct public hearings to get consumers’ and other telecom operators’ reaction to the deal.
“So, if for example the public objects or Globe objects to the sale, you have to give all the parties (the opportunity) to air their side,” he said, adding that the public hearings may take time.
“NTC has the power to approve the sale, so it also has the power to disapprove the sale.”
Once the PLDT acquisition of Digitel is completed, the giant telecom firms will hold three frequencies for third-generation (3G) telephony versus one frequency of Globe Telecom Inc.
This frequency allocation, Martinez said, is the primary consideration for reviewing the sale.
On Tuesday, PLDT announced the acquisition of a 51.55 percent stake in Digitel for P69.2 million.
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