QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 11539)
The franchise allows Instant Data Inc. to construct, install, establish, operate, and maintain wire and/or wireless telecommunications systems throughout the Philippines and other countries. This includes various technologies such as mobile cellular, fixed lines, fiber optics, satellite systems, and value-added services for transmission of voice, data, images, and more.
The NTC must issue a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity or appropriate permits and licenses for construction and operation of telecommunications systems. It can regulate and impose conditions, approve service areas, authorize frequency use, revoke or suspend permits for violations, and recommend franchise revocation to Congress.
The grantee may excavate or lay conduits in public places with prior approval from the DPWH or LGU, and must restore disturbed areas as per standards. Failure to repair after 10 days’ notice allows the DPWH or LGU to repair at double the expense, payable by the grantee.
The grantee must operate ethically, avoid obscene or false transmissions, maintain equipment properly, update technology, extend services to unserved areas including disaster-prone zones, and comply with the Free Mobile Disaster Alerts Act.
Rates, except those for nonregulated services, must be approved by the NTC. They must be unbundled and distinct across offered services, ensuring that regulated services do not subsidize unregulated ones.
The President may temporarily take over or suspend operation of facilities during war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, or emergency, and may authorize government use of the facilities with due compensation to the grantee.
Failure to commence operations within 3 years from NTC permit approval or Act effectivity, or failure to operate continuously for 2 years, results in automatic revocation of the franchise.
The grantee cannot sell, lease, transfer, assign, or merge the franchise or controlling interest without prior congressional approval. Failure to report changes within 60 days post-transaction leads to ipso facto revocation.
The grantee must offer at least 30% (or higher as mandated) of its outstanding capital stock to Filipino citizens in any Philippine securities exchange within 5 years from starting operations. If public offering is inapplicable, cooperatives must be established. Noncompliance leads to ipso facto revocation.
The grantee must create employment opportunities, prioritize residents near its principal office, ensure at least 60% of employees are regular, comply with labor laws, allow on-the-job trainings, and report employment data annually to the SEC and Congress.
The grantee must submit an annual report to Congress by April 30 including compliance status, audited financial statements, General Information Sheet, NTC certification, and ownership dispersal updates. A reportorial compliance certificate is needed before NTC accepts any permit or certificate application.
A fine of One million pesos (P1,000,000.00) per working day of noncompliance is imposed, starting after applicability with other franchise grantees. In the interim, a fine of Five hundred pesos (P500.00) per working day applies. The NTC collects the fine, remitting it to the Bureau of Treasury.
The franchise is valid for 25 years from its effectivity date unless sooner cancelled due to specified violations.
No, the franchise is non-exclusive and subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by Congress as public interest requires.
The Act takes effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.