Question & AnswerQ&A (NTC MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 02-04-2009)
The main purpose is to provide implementing guidelines on developing Reference Access Offers (RAO) to ensure transparency, fairness, reasonableness, and non-discriminatory interconnection agreements in the Philippine telecommunications industry.
A RAO is a statement of the conditions, prices, and terms a Public Telecommunications Entity (PTE) proposes to provide access to its network, facilities, systems, or customer base to another PTE or Value-Added Service Provider (VASP). It serves as a definite offer for network access.
An Access Provider is a PTE requested to supply access to its network, systems, facilities, or customer base by another PTE or VASP. An Access Seeker is a PTE or VASP requesting access from another PTE.
General principles include any-to-any communication, end-to-end interoperability, fair compensation, equal responsibility for timely and efficient access, prompt service, and compliance with government telecommunications policies and international commitments.
Services include fixed and mobile network origination, termination, and transit services, fixed and mobile internet call origination and termination, broadband access services, retail narrow band access, mobile data origination and termination services, and other current services vital to competition.
All PTEs must submit a RAO within 90 days from the effectivity of the guidelines. The RAO should be comprehensive, detailing terms, conditions, prices, technical info, procedures, and service levels in a form allowing acceptance without further negotiation.
The RAO prices, terms, and conditions are deemed valid offers for a period of three years, unless the Commission specifies otherwise.
If the Commission fails to communicate a decision or request additional time within 90 days of receipt, the proposed RAO is deemed approved and binding on the Access Provider.
An Access Provider cannot modify or withdraw its RAO after submission unless approved upon petition by the Commission. Any modification to access agreements based on a RAO requires mutual consent and Commission approval.
Penalties include administrative fines, suspension of applications for permits or licenses, disqualification of responsible officers from working in regulated entities, or suspension of authorized service rates without service disruption, among others.
During a three-year transition period, interconnection charges must not exceed costs calculated using the Fully Distributed Cost (FDC) method, with a future shift to Total Service Long-Run Incremental Cost plus mark-up (TSLRIC plus).
The NTC reviews proposed RAOs for fairness, reasonableness, and non-discrimination, approves or disapproves them within timelines, requires cost justifications, supervises published RAOs, and intervenes in disputes.
Yes, access agreements can be based on approved RAOs or negotiated as individualized agreements. Individualized agreements require Commission approval and must not discriminate against other Access Seekers under existing RAOs.
The RAO must list available infrastructure for sharing, locations for collocation, procedures for capacity allocation, pricing methods, supplementary services pricing, and security and access protocols for collocated facilities.
RAOs must have clear dispute resolution procedures, including negotiation, arbitration mechanisms, timelines for escalation, and referral to regulators or courts to ensure efficient resolution.