The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) opposed the bid of Voice of Manila (VOM) Broadcasting Corp. to stop regulators from reallocating frequency bands that support Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) technology after the petitioner failed to start commercial operations and use its license in six years.

Already, big companies who used the recalled frequency have rolled out billions of pesos worth of infrastructure all over the archipelago.

NTC’s 5-year old Memorandum Circular (MC) 06-08-2005, which enforced the reallocation, covers more than 40 telecommunications companies operating all over the country, including the industry’s biggest players Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), Globe Telecom Inc., Smart Communications Inc., Bayan Telecommunications Inc., Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel) and PT&T Philippines.

The broadcast firm claimed that the reallocation of any frequency is the “equivalent of a death sentence” to VOM. However, NTC countered that VOM has been “sleeping on its interests” all these years. “VOM is guilty of inaction. It has not operated all these years and failed to comply with its commitments and undertakings under its Provisional Authority (PA).

VOM did not even attach the company’s annual income tax returns for 2006, 2007 and 2008 in its petition for a temporary restraining order before the Regional Trial Court in Pasig City, proving that VOM “has no commercial operations”, pointed out NTC Deputy Commissioner Douglas Michael Mallillin. Furthermore, he cited the company’s Independent Auditor’s Report stated: “As of December 31, 2008, the company has not started commercial operations pending the successful negotiation of international funding for infrastructure development and the release of government permits and licenses.

NTC emphasized that the radio frequency spectrum in question is a limited and valuable resource used for all forms of wireless communications, including radio and television broadcast, cellular telephony, telephone radio relay, aeronautical and marine navigation, and satellite command, control, and communications.