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NTC’s Interesting (but Useless) Legal Interpretation

June 6, 2005

INQ7 reports that the NTC has adopted a legal interpretation of the term “valued added services” (VAS) as it is defined in the Public Telecommuncations Policy Act (RA 7925).  This is important to VoIP advocates because the NTC’s position would characterize VoIP services as VAS thereby dispensing with the expensive and time-consuming licensing process telcos had to go through to offer voice services.  At the center of the controversy is the phrase in the law which requres VAS to be an “enhanced service not ordinarily offered” by the telcos.  The Telcos claim that they already offer VoIP today and therefore, since they are “ordinarily offering” it to the public, then it cannot be VAS.

Well, the NTC through Dep. Comm. Jorge Sarmiento has put forward the proposition that services “ordinarily offered” by the telcos should be determined as of the time RA 7925 was passed in the mid-90’s.  The NTC reasoning goes like this: “Since none of the telcos were offering VoIP at that time, then it’s VAS today.” (more…)

Posted by JJ Disini at 10:31 am | permalink | comments[1]