The first public hearing on the National Telecommunications Commission?s (NTC) draft rules on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) highlighted the positive and negative side of this fledgling technology -- those who warn that it can be exploited unscrupulously for business profit and those who believe in its economic rewards.

Attracting close to a hundred people, last Tuesday?s hearing saw a divided house as lawyers of telecommunications companies (telcos) like the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and Globe Telecom raised every legal issue against the deregulation of VoIP, even questioning NTC?s jurisdiction in declaring VoIP as a value-added service (VAS). Meanwhile, stakeholders favoring VoIP?s deregulation led by Internet service providers (ISPs) painted a rosy picture for the economy if NTC?s draft rules are approved.

Lawyer Rodolfo Salalima, senior vice president for legal affairs of Globe, argued that VoIP is still a basic telecommunication service which can only be offered by public telecommunication entities (PTEs) granted congressional franchises under Republic Act No. 7925, the Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines.

?We are not against VoIP. The real issue is who will provide VoIP,? said Salalima, who questioned NTC"s jurisdiction in defining VoIP as VAS, stressing that there is no basis for its draft circular.

Also maintaining a protectionist stance, lawyer Rogelio Quevedo, who represented PLDT, warned that the ?abrupt and unilateral classification of VoIP as VAS? would result in the proliferation of ?fly-by-night? operators.

?A change in technology does not change provisions for the provision of service,? said Quevedo, pointing out that VoIP is a form of voice service.

More Opportunities

Seeing the economic benefits of VoIP, Dr. Bill Torres, founder of pioneering ISP Mosaic Communications (MosCom), said VoIP could converge with other applications and, thus, provide more business opportunities for local companies, whether telcos or ISPs.

?There is so much money to be made from VoIP if only local companies are creative enough to merge it with other applications,? he pointed out. ?VoIP offers competitive advantages for the Philippines on a global scale.?

Torres, who also represented the Philippine Internet Services Organization as one the group?s board members, stressed that the Philippines could lag behind other countries if VoIP is restricted solely as a voice service.

What Filipinos cannot afford to lose, other stakeholders argued, is the promise of lower communication costs that VoIP brings. VoIP transmits voice signals over the Internet as packets without having to go through traditional telephone switches owned by telcos. Thus, rates for VoIP calls from anywhere in the world will be more or less uniform as long as there is the Internet.

By availing themselves of the VoIP service, Filipinos abroad who spend precious dollars for expensive long distance calls can instead channel their hard-earned greenbacks to the Philippines in the form of remittances.

Roberto Ceralvo, vice president for U.S.-based operator IdealTech Inc., noted how Filipino consumers could significantly benefit from VoIP calls. He said the long distance calls from the Philippines to the U.S. offered by telcos cost between 8 and 10 cents per minute, which is a lot lower than neighboring countries like Malaysia and Singapore. But VoIP calls can cost as low as three cents per minute, he pointed out.

IdealTech is planning to offer wireless VoIP services in the country, especially in areas not covered by telcos.

The benefits of VoIP, however, hinge on whether NTC pushes through with its draft rules defining VoIP as VAS, which will allow non-PTEs to offer commercial IP voice services. If NTC finalizes its draft rules, lawyers of telecom firms are already hinting at going all the way to the Supreme Court to question NTC?s jurisdiction.

Asking the NTC to look beyond the legal and regulatory issues, lawyer JJ Disini, who specializes in Internet-related cases, said the commission should focus on the financial and economic concerns that both the telcos and other stakeholders have raised.

?NTC should try to get the real arguments and issues out,? Disini pointed out. ?I believe these issues are financial and economic. This information is essential for the NTC to determine if VoIP -- as a technology, as an industry, as a market -- will truly serve the interest of the people.?

The NTC gave a 10-day deadline after last Tuesday?s hearing for stakeholders to submit their comments and position papers. NTC commissioner Ronald Solis said the commission would decide whether or not to conduct a second public hearing based on the additional inputs that would be gathered.