The telco duopoly, after an initial pushback, is taking a less belligerent approach to the Open Access Bill, commonly known as the Konektadong Pinoy Act, that came into law in August.
The law aims to remove barriers to new entrants in the telco space, increase competition, and ultimately improve internet accessibility for all Filipinos.
The release of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) calmed the frayed nerves of the companies that had long dominated the field, an industry veteran who Nosy Tarsee bumped into in one of the holiday gatherings said.
The IRR cleared up the main concerns that had been bogging down the telcos. It appeared that established telcos Converge, PLDT and Globe will not be forced to lease and share their networks if they do not have excess capacity.
Under the IRR, passive and active infrastructure, whether publicly or privately owned, that supports data transmission must be made available for co-location and co-use on an open, fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory basis.
The IRR preserves the rights of infrastructure owners by not compelling them to allow access in situations that compromise their own network stability or operational performance.
Access may be refused under certain conditions, such as technical unsuitability or incompatibility, lack of physical space or capacity, risks to network integrity, cybersecurity, or safety, and other reasonable and justifiable engineering grounds.
Also, Nosy Tarsee was briefed by a Converge representative who said the company is in a particularly strong position under the new regime, noting its substantial excess ports and backhaul capacity.
This puts the fiber internet provider in an advantageous position to lease unused capacity to third parties, potentially enhancing profitability.