GLOBE Telecom said it was not violating any rule in undertaking the preparatory civil works for the $40-million cable landing station in Cagayan.

Amid opposition from rival phone firms, the cellular firm vowed to finish the facility in third quarter of this year.

“As much as possible, we would like this to be finished roughly by third quarter of this year,” said Globe president Gerardo Ablaza in a recent interview.

Globe’s move to begin construction of its landing station in Ballesteros, Cagayan, has caught the ire of other phone firms who asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to order Globe to stop the ongoing construction until the commission has determined the merits of Globe’s application.

Rival Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel), for one, said that in the event that the NTC acts favorably on Globe’s application, this would create an impression that the Commission is favoring one carrier over the others.

“If the foregoing act would be left unscathed, local carriers similarly situated would suffer undue advantage and prejudice. This would also lead to a clear violation of the equal protection clause of the Constitution,” Digitel had said.

The phone arm of conglomerate JG Summit Holdings wants to stop the construction of Globe’s cable landing station in Cagayan on grounds that the cellular firm began construction ahead of its application.

But Globe senior vice president for corporate and regulatory affairs Rodolfo Salalima said last week the company will pursue its application despite protest from rival firms. “Some companies are opposing it for reasons that are obvious like it provides more market competition,” said Salalima.

The Globe lawyer said those blocking the application should carefully read the law, particularly Section 16 of Republic Act 7925, which took effect in 1995.

The law states that the upgrading of existing plant and network facilities including the financing thereof, for the purpose of retiring or replacing obsolete or outmoded equipment with state-of-the-art technology in order to improve the quality or grade of service being rendered to the public, shall not require the approval of the Commission.  Also, expansion and financing of network and services, utilizing equipment compatible with or homologous to existing or previously approved facilities, in order to service additional demand, shall not require the approval of the NTC.

Salalima said the law is so clear that the cellular firm sees no reason why its application should be rejected by the NTC. “I can’t see how the NTC would not grant our application,” he said.

Globe is applying for the issuance of certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) to establish, install, operate and maintain an international cable landing station in Ballesteros, Cagayan—the company’s second after the Batangas international cable landing and submarine-cable system.  

“Globe invokes the jurisdiction of the NTC, not for the purpose of obtaining a provisional authority but to ask for confirmation that upgrading of equipment for the purpose of retiring or replacing obsolete or outmoded equipment does not require the approval of the Commission under the law. In the application, Globe prayed that in the alternative, that it be immediately granted a provisional authority and later on a CPCN to construct the proposed cable landing station if and when the NTC finds that a provisional authority is nonetheless required to construct the proposed cable landing station,” the cellular firm pointed out.

Globe said it needs to expand its services, network and installations, to upgrade its existing plants and facilities, to utilize new equipment and technology, and retire the old ones.

Globe’s first cable system, it said, is vulnerable to earthquakes and other natural calamities. In order to prevent another disruption of service brought about by the recent Taiwan earthquake, the company will be expanding its existing switching and transmission facilities by constructing another cable landing station.

“This is where redundancy now comes into play. Redundancy provides alterative methods of telecommunications capabilities to sustain business operations and eliminate any single point of failure that could disrupt primary services,” said Globe.

Globe urged the NTC to immediately act on its application even before the initial hearing of the case. The country, it said, needs additional capacity for international services to address the ever-growing demand brought about by the rapid growth of the cellular mobile telephone system, leased line, Internet and other telecommunications services.

“Needles to say, this proposed cable landing system, which will bring to the fore the most modern and seamless telecommunications technology, shall be a vital instrument in the attainment of economic recovery for the country. Moreover, this project is targeted for completion by November 2008,” said Globe.

GLOBE Telecom said it was not violating any rule in undertaking the preparatory civil works for the $40-million cable landing station in Cagayan.

Belle net income soars to P332M

LISTED property firm Belle Corp. posted a net income of P331.7 million in 2007 from P152.3 million the previous year.

THE biggest high-end residential development projects in Cebu, by Landco and Ayala Land, reported phenomenal uptake rates and interest not only from local buyers but from overseas-based investors as well.

LISTED media giant GMA Network Inc. is mulling over the sale of its 49-percent stake in a real-estate company, noting that it is not part of its core business.

SAN Miguel Corp. Retirement Plan (SMCRP) is probably the biggest single investor that ordinary investors who trade on shares in companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) have to compete with. If this writer’s computations are correct, SMCRP now owns P40.381 billion worth of SMC shares are assumed at a price of P45 each based on last week’s market.