Turf ware
By Conrado R. Banal III
Inquirer
Inquirer
SUBIC Telecommunications (SubicTel) is asking the court in Olongapo City to change its mind and issue a temporary restraining order on against the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the telecom firm Innove.
That, admittedly, is not news. Sure it involves a turf war between two companies in this highly competitive telecommunications business. On the contrary, precisely because of cutthroat competition, such a court case is not a curiosity in the telecom sector. Court cases are the ware for hanging on to one's turf.
Alright, in the business community, court cases are an entire industry in themselves, perhaps even including the court jesters technically known as judges.
But guess who owns SubicTel. It's none other than Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), which also owns Smart Communications, the biggest mobile phone company here.
And guess who owns the other telecom firm in the case. Well, Innove happens to belong to Globe Telecom Inc., which is not exactly the best friend of Smart.
The days are long gone when the telecom companies, particularly Smart and Globe, would spend recklessly just to steal subscribers from each other.
The telecom war (translation: Big advertising budget) has shifted to usage. You know--they are spending billions to entice you to make more calls or text messages. For reality TV shows, for instance, like "Philippine Idol" or "Pinoy Big Brother!"
Hopefully, with the increase in their revenues coming from the increase in our usage, they can spend more money to continue cutting each other's throat.
Going back to the court case, I was just saying that SubicTel filed a motion for reconsideration at the Olongapo City court, which earlier denied SubicTel's petition for a temporary restraint order against Innove and SBMA.
SubicTel wanted the court to stop SBMA from allowing Innove to operate at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, claiming that under its agreement with SBMA, it still has the exclusive rights over telecom service in the area.
Only last February, the SMBA granted Innove a "provisional authority" to operate at the free port by leasing out landlines for domestic and international use.
SubicTel cried foul before the court, claiming that its contract allowed it to extend the "exclusivity" if only, for instance, to be allowed to recoup its huge investments.
SubicTel invested P1 billion in the area since it was originally put up in 1994 as a joint venture among SBMA, PLDT and the US firm AT and T.
Both SBMA and AT and T eventually sold out to PLDT.
In that sale, which was done during the time of SBMA chairman Felicito Payumo, SBMA lost some P70 million of its original investment of P250 million. PLDT bought out SBMA for only P150 million.
For its part, AT&T made a killing, getting P420 million from the sale to PLDT, as against its original investment of P100 million.
Word has it that the grandparent of Innove -- the Ayala group -- also invested heavily in Subic during the time of former SBMA boss Francisco Licuanan, who was once an Ayala executive.
That, admittedly, is not news. Sure it involves a turf war between two companies in this highly competitive telecommunications business. On the contrary, precisely because of cutthroat competition, such a court case is not a curiosity in the telecom sector. Court cases are the ware for hanging on to one's turf.
Alright, in the business community, court cases are an entire industry in themselves, perhaps even including the court jesters technically known as judges.
But guess who owns SubicTel. It's none other than Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), which also owns Smart Communications, the biggest mobile phone company here.
And guess who owns the other telecom firm in the case. Well, Innove happens to belong to Globe Telecom Inc., which is not exactly the best friend of Smart.
The days are long gone when the telecom companies, particularly Smart and Globe, would spend recklessly just to steal subscribers from each other.
The telecom war (translation: Big advertising budget) has shifted to usage. You know--they are spending billions to entice you to make more calls or text messages. For reality TV shows, for instance, like "Philippine Idol" or "Pinoy Big Brother!"
Hopefully, with the increase in their revenues coming from the increase in our usage, they can spend more money to continue cutting each other's throat.
Going back to the court case, I was just saying that SubicTel filed a motion for reconsideration at the Olongapo City court, which earlier denied SubicTel's petition for a temporary restraint order against Innove and SBMA.
SubicTel wanted the court to stop SBMA from allowing Innove to operate at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, claiming that under its agreement with SBMA, it still has the exclusive rights over telecom service in the area.
Only last February, the SMBA granted Innove a "provisional authority" to operate at the free port by leasing out landlines for domestic and international use.
SubicTel cried foul before the court, claiming that its contract allowed it to extend the "exclusivity" if only, for instance, to be allowed to recoup its huge investments.
SubicTel invested P1 billion in the area since it was originally put up in 1994 as a joint venture among SBMA, PLDT and the US firm AT and T.
Both SBMA and AT and T eventually sold out to PLDT.
In that sale, which was done during the time of SBMA chairman Felicito Payumo, SBMA lost some P70 million of its original investment of P250 million. PLDT bought out SBMA for only P150 million.
For its part, AT&T made a killing, getting P420 million from the sale to PLDT, as against its original investment of P100 million.
Word has it that the grandparent of Innove -- the Ayala group -- also invested heavily in Subic during the time of former SBMA boss Francisco Licuanan, who was once an Ayala executive.
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
4:20 AM
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