THE Philippine Cable Television Association (PCTA) on Thursday said the partnership between Smart Communications Inc. and GV Broadcasting System Inc. was a “nifty way” of circumventing a law prohibiting a phone firm from engaging in broadcasting.

From how the group of cable-television providers views it, “there is really no partnership between Smart and GV because Smart is the one providing the myTV service, with GV merely providing the frequencies.”

The PCTA added that it is Smart that performs all of the functions of a service provider. “Aside from the fact that Smart is, in fact, the one bankrolling the supposed partnership, and that apart from the frequencies used in the provisioning of myTV service, GV has in fact no participation as Smart performs all the duties,” said PCTA in a  reply to the comments filed by Smart, GV and Nation Broadcasting Corp. (NBC).

GV, for its part, maintains that it has not allowed Smart to engage in the provision of TV services to the public. Smart’s role with respect to the service agreement with GV is merely to handle the marketing, promotion, billing and customer-care aspects of GV’s TV services business.

Smart entered into a service agreement with GV whereby the latter agreed to provide the service exclusively to the cellular firm’s subscribers.

“Based on sheer logic and common sense, GV simply has no reason to violate its demo permit by allowing another entity such as Smart to engage in similar activities under the risk of endangering its good standing with the NTC,” GV said in a filing with the NTC.

The PCTA said there are sufficient grounds to hold Smart, GV and NBC liable for violations of Section 15 of the Public Service Act and of their respective authorizations. “Considering the palpable and easily verifiable nature of their violations, a cease and desist order [CDO] should be immediately issued.”

NBC and GV were named respondents because, according to PCTA, they allowed Smart to use the frequencies assigned to them for the test broadcast of handheld digital TV in demo permits previously granted by the NTC.

Pending hearing and resolution of the case, the PCTA asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to issue a CDO enjoining Smart and GV from offering and accepting applications for subscription to mobile TV service.

After due hearing, the PCTA also wants the NTC to permanently prohibit NBC, GV from permitting Smart to use the frequencies for mobile TV service.

NBC, GV are units of MediaQuest Holdings Inc., the investment vehicle of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) Beneficial Trust Fund. Smart, meanwhile, is the cellular unit of PLDT. GV changed its name to 360Media Corp. and later changed it again to MediaScape Inc.

NBC, in a reply to the complaint filed by PCTA, said the frequency bands 632-638 megahertz (MHz) and 560-566 MHz are not being used by Smart or GV for mobile TV service.

“The activities of NBC under its demo permits are clearly within the bounds of the purpose for which the permits were granted to test and demonstrate DT-T/H in areas in which NBC is authorized to do so,” NBC said in the reply.

But the PCTA said that this was not true. “A person availing himself of the myTV service in the Ortigas Center, Pasig City,  who is minded to check the  service settings on his my-TV-enabled Smart mobile phone would readily discover that the digital TV signals are being transmitted using the 635 MHz, which is within the range of channel 41.”

The group of cable TV operators said the nonissuance of a CDO will further prejudice the subscribing public.

“In the meantime, we want the NTC to order them to refrain from accepting and processing applications for subscription to the myTV service, from putting out print, TV and radio advertisements on myTV, and to refrain from commercially launching the service, pending hearing and final consideration of the case,” PCTA lawyer Antonio Parungao said in an interview.

The group added: “The NTC may have been lulled into inaction on the complainant’s prayer for the issuance of a CDO by the fact that Smart or 360Media has yet to charge subscribers for the myTV service… Sight must not be lost, however, of the fact that myTV subscribers have in fact entered into valid and binding subscription agreements with Smart or 360Media,” PCTA said.

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PCTA scores Smart, GV partnership  

THE Philippine Cable Television Association (PCTA) on Thursday said the partnership between Smart Communications Inc. and GV Broadcasting System Inc. was a “nifty way” of circumventing a law prohibiting a phone firm from engaging in broadcasting.

PHILIPPINE stocks Thursday rose for the sixth day, climbing the most in two months, after US productivity and labor data suggested a recession may be averted in the Southeast Asian nation’s biggest market for goods and labor.

TANDUAY Holdings Inc., a listed company controlled by tobacco magnate Lucio Tan, has offered to buy for P85.06 million the 10.66-percent stake of Miguel Ossorio Pension Foundation Inc. in Victorias Milling Co. (VMC).

GLOBE TELECOM asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Thursday to impose sanctions on Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel) for forum-shopping even as the commission already said the latter is not guilty of it.

If things pan out, Smart Communications will start selling next year its international services to Italy-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). By then, the company would have hopefully worked out the kinks in its proposed Dubai expansion.