PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) said it was willing to reveal to Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel) the connectivity rates to the submarine-cable system only if Digitel is a capacity owner in the 20,000-kilometer Asia-America Gateway (AAG) optical fiber submarine cable system.

Digitel wants regulators to compel PLDT to bare its backhaul cost and reveal the rates.

“PLDT is open to discuss the AAG backhaul rates, even if estimates only at this time, and the other means of station access with Digitel only until it becomes a capacity owner in the AAG as mandated under the AAG contract and maintenance agreement [C&MA],” PLDT said.

Eastern Telecommunications Philippines Inc. and Bayan Telecommunications Inc. are parties to the AAG. PLDT said it is currently talking with Eastern and Bayan on the required access to AAG cable landing station in La Union, which will be the landing site of the AAG cable system.

PLDT is seeking authority from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to construct the Philippine terminal station. The project, which connects Southeast Asia with North America, would cost $553.63 million. PLDT’s share in the project would be about $62 million.

“Contrary therefore to the allegation of Digitel, there is no way for PLDT to dictate prices for backhaul facilities for the reason that under the AAG C&MA there are three options of access available. These conditions are made standard to all AAG cable stations and thus Digitel cannot claim that PLDT is under any control of the situation in the Philippines,” PLDT said.

Digitel, the phone unit of Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings Inc., claimed that PLDT’s current rates place other carriers that need access to the landing station at a disadvantage.

Digitel leases PLDT’s inland facilities between its Nasugbu cable landing station and the Sampaloc link. It claimed that it is being charged  $750 per trunk per month by PLDT since 2002. Digitel has appealed since 2005 for the reduction of the said rate to $500, which is the average backhaul rate in the global market.

PLDT said such a comparison is not appropriate since every country has its own market rate for backhaul facilities.

“It is also worth mentioning that nowhere in the three cable landing stations currently in the country of which one is owned by Digitel in Naic, Cavite, the other owned by PLDT in Nasugbu, Batangas, and the last is owned by Globe Telecom also in Nasugbu did the NTC mandate that the backhaul charges be declared and published,” PLDT said.

Digitel is worried that PLDT will continue to charge very expensive backhaul rates once its intended cable-landing station in La Union is operational.

“To afford PLDT the leeway to dictate its prices for the backhaul facilities only upon actual operation would leave the other carriers with no alternative solution or option than to accede again to PLDT’s monopoly of prices in the market. This in effect would have an adverse upshot on the cost of providing the services to the determinant of the end users,” Digitel earlier said.

PLDT said that different cable landing stations could have different backhaul rates.

Digitel’s claim on backhaul charges is based on its issue regarding rates of PLDT’s existing cable station. These two stations—Nasugbu and the soon-to-be operational in La Union—are not only located at opposite sides of Luzon but the Nasugbu cable landing station is not even part of the application, PLDT added.

HOLDERS of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.’s debt notes that would fall due in 2009, 2012 and 2017 have given the phone giant consent to change the terms to its various bond issues, the company said Thursday.

PLDT says it will bare connection rates to AAG capacity owners

PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) said it was willing to reveal to Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel) the connectivity rates to the submarine-cable system only if Digitel is a capacity owner in the 20,000-kilometer Asia-America Gateway (AAG) optical fiber submarine cable system.

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