Suarez reported to Congress that he reminded NTC several times to conduct a bidding on 3G since early 2004 and was surprised to learn that the commission was awarding licenses in the latter part of 2005.

Similarly, House ICT committee chairman Simeon Kintanar, citing his five-year experience as NTC commissioner, commented that big players such as Smart and Globe would not have allowed others to have exclusive use of 3G.

'I think the existing dominant player would like status quo. Anyway they are big, dominant, and making money. There is no need to pour in money to earn more money because they are there already but if something like this will happen, there is no way they would allow others to be in without them being in also,' Kintanar said. 'That's a reality, and I think the industry would have to accept that. If they can get away without any change, they will.'