Globe takeover of Bayantel requires Congress approval, says PLDT

The sale of Bayantel's frequencies to Globe will require legislative clearance, according to PLDT.

"Bayantel's franchise specifically prohibits the transfer, sale or assignment of any right or privilege granted it without approval of Congress," Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co said in a statement.

"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 or since the grant of provisional authority to Bayantel way back in 2000," PLDT said.

Globe Telecom Inc had acquired 98.26 percent of Bayan Telecommunication Inc's loans and 100 percent of Radio Communications of the Philippines Inc's (RCPI) liabilities. RCPI is a unit of Bayantel, both of which are owned by the Lopez Group.

The acquisition cost $130 million, lower than the $400 million face value of Bayantel's aggregate debt.

PLDT recently bagged 60-day temporary restraining order from the Court of Appeals, barring the sale of Bayantel to Globe.

The Appellate Court said the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) should first act on the objections raised by PLDT before granting Globe's acquisition of Bayantel.

Globe was expecting last July to snag NTC approval of the Bayantel takeover, but the PLDT Group and Next Mobile sought to block the deal.

As Bayantel's largest creditor, Globe intends to convert its debt holdings into at least 54 percent of the former's outstanding shares.

Globe plans to unlock Bayantel's key business assets, particularly in corporate data and broadband. The takeover would allow Globe to address rising demand for mobile data services, and Bayantel to build its mobile network.

NTC eyes changes to broadband speed rules

THE NATIONAL Telecommunications Commission (NTC) will amend its memorandum on the minimum speed of broadband connections after concerned parties on a Senate inquiry on Sept. 16 sought for some changes in the terms, a senior official said.
In a phone interview, NTC Director Edgardo R. Cabarios said that a public consultation and hearing was sought after some telecommunication providers during a Senate hearing proposed “ways to measure speed connections and methods of measurement.”

The Senate inquiry last month, which was called by Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” A. Aquino IV, was centered on whether consumers are getting their money’s worth from their Internet and telecommunications service providers.

NTC said during the hearing that it will issue a memorandum circular prescribing minimum standards for telecommunication companies and Internet service providers on broadband connectivity.

In a notice of public consultation and hearing published yesterday, the NTC invited all affected and interested parties to a meeting on Nov. 7 about their proposals to amend Memorandum Order No.07-07-2011 on the minimum speed of broadband connections.

Tabled for discussion, among others, are the parameters to be measured; the methods and periods of measurement of broadband speed connectivity; who should conduct the measurement; and methods of mediation and arbitration in case of disputes.

NTC said during the Senate inquiry that it will buy the equipment needed to monitor the level of broadband connectivity provided by telecommunication companies.

“We need to settle all their proposals first before we can buy equipment that will measure the speed of telco’s broadband services’ connectivity,” Mr. Cabarios explained.

The NTC will conduct another public hearing, according to Mr. Cabarios, after it settles all concerns during the first consultation.

“After that, we will be issuing the amended memorandum before the year ends,” he added.

Other than implementing a minimum speed for broadband connections, the NTC memorandum circular could likewise contain amendments on broadband advertisements that will require the telecommunication companies remove or clarify terms like “unlimited” or “up to” with regard to broadband speed and amount of data offered.

In a report by the United Nations Broadband Commission published last month, the Philippines ranked 57th among 132 countries surveyed for household broadband penetration in 2013.

Smart free Internet now offered to postpaid, broadband subscribers, too

As if free 30MB data daily for its prepaid subscribers isn’t enough, Smart Communications is now offering the same special promo to its postpaid and broadband users—we’re talking all 72 million Smart, Sun Cellular, and Talk ‘N Text subscribers—as well. That’s like throwing in the kitchen sink for good measure!
Even better, Smart has extended the offer from November 30, 2014, to January 5, 2015.
Same rules apply: no P2P, no streaming, no messaging, and no VoIP (more details about the limitations here). We guess the telco needs to make sure that its network can handle the traffic that's coming its way.
Unless you're on Facebook. The promo includes unli all-you-can FB access, so even if you send messages or watch videos on the social-networking site, you won't incur additional charges.
To avail yourself of the offer, just text FREE to 9999.
We wonder what Globe Telecom's answer to Smart's updated promo will be this time. We know that it is bringing back Free Facebook, which was first made available from October 2013 to April 2014. We emailed the company, and we're just waiting for its answer.
Anyhow, we are about to board a plane, so we're just going to post Smart's full press release here. Merry (early) Christmas?
“In another unprecedented move, Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and Sun Cellular announced that effective October 3, it is expanding their free Internet offer to all of their prepaid subscribers to also cover all their postpaid and broadband subscribers.  Furthermore, they are extending the duration of the free mobile Internet promo across all subscribers—postpaid, prepaid and broadband—from November 30 through the Christmas season until January 5, 2014.
The announcement was made through MVP’s official Twitter account: “TY for the overwhelming response to #SmartFREEInternet. Our early Christmas gift to our loyal and new subs—offer now extended to Jan. 5.”
In another tweet, MVP added “Even better—free Internet now open to ALL prepaid, postpaid & broadband subscribers of Smart, TNT 7 Sun #smartFREEinternet for All.”
Full Facebook experience and more
On top of their free Internet, all subscribers can also enjoy “unli” “all-you-can” Facebook access - including sending messages via Facebook messenger and viewing of videos embedded in the social networking site. Subscribers can also enjoy all-day Wikipedia access as well on top of their daily 30 MB free data allocation.
Through this special offer, all of the 72 million subscribers of Smart, Sun and Talk ‘N Text can enjoy browsing through all their favorite websites as well their social media accounts using their data-enabled handsets. They can also send and receive emails, use their favorite mobile apps, shop online, and more—without incurring additional data charges.
This move comes a week after Smart and Sun Cellular surprised the industry with its groundbreaking offer for free mobile Internet for its Smart prepaid, Talk ‘N Text and Sun Cellular prepaid mobile subscribers.
"This is our way of thanking our subscribers as well as a response to the requests of our postpaid and broadband subscribers to be included in the special offer. It is part of our overall strategy in accelerating mobile Internet adoption and usage in the country," said Charles A. Lim, executive vice president and head for wireless consumer business at Smart.

Text FREE to 9999
To avail of the free mobile Internet offer, subscribers just have to maintain an airtime balance of at least one peso, or be subscribed to any load bucket/promo. They can register each day, by simply sending “FREE” to the number “9999.” Registration is free. They will receive an SMS confirmation upon successful registration.
Once registered, subscribers can enjoy a free data volume package of up to 30MB per day. Data charges will however apply to peer-to-peer uploads and downloads, videos (unless embedded in Facebook), VOIP and messaging (except for Facebook messenger).
Smart’s successive free mobile Internet offers follows the leader’s recent announcement that it has stepped up the deployment of its broadband network, to meet the growing demand for data services.
Resilient and nationwidest network.
"With millions of subscribers going online, our network has been performing very well, enabling them to sign-up for the service to take advantage of the free Internet offer ." said Roland G. Pena, Smart Technology Group Head.
The PLDT Group has thus far rolled out about 90,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables all over the country which provides the transmission facilities needed to support Internet services. It has also the most extensive international cable systems needed to connect the Philippines to the rest of the world.
Last Wednesday, PLDT also announced that it is boosting the capacity of its 90,000-kilometer domestic fiber optic network by 520 gigabits per second under a P544-million expansion project that will be completed by the first quarter of 2015. This will raise the total capacity of PLDT’s DFON by 13 percent to 4.6 terabits per second.”