NEWCOMER Dito Telecommunity filed on Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, complaints against Globe and PLDT/Smart over their “anti-competitive practices” in their interconnection deals.In a press conference, Dito chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said they filed charges before the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) against the two major telecommunication providers in the country for “not being very compliant” with their deals, which he said hindered their company’s growth.Tamano said their subscribers find it “very difficult” to interconnect with Globe and PLDT/Smart telecommunication users.Out of the 100 calls from Dito users to Globe and Smart, only 20 to 30 calls went through.Dito accused the two firms of “abuse” of their dominance.“They’re giants. Our market share for the entire market is at most five percent. There would be no question who is in the dominant position,” Tamano said.He said they could have a much higher market share once interconnection issues are addressed.Dito Telecommunity, which was commercially launched in March 2021, had over 10.3 million subscribers, as of July.In April, Dito completed its interconnection with PLDT Inc.-Smart Communications and Globe Telecom.Telecommunication interconnection is mandated under the Republic Act 7925 or the “Act to Promote and Govern the Development of the Philippine Telecommunications and the Delivery of Public Telecommunications Services.”Under this law, interconnection is defined as “the linkage, by wire, radio, satellite or other means, of two or more existing telecommunications carriers or operators with one another for the purpose of allowing or enabling the subscribers of one carrier or operator to access or reach the subscribers of the other carriers or operators.”This will allow a subscriber of one telco to call or send text messages to a user of a different network.Sought for comment, both Globe and PLDT/Smart said Monday they had yet to receive a copy of the complaint.“We don’t have a copy of the complaint yet. Until such time, we will refrain from issuing a statement. Globe reiterates that it has always advocated for fair business practices and competing in level playing field,” said Yoly Crisanto, chief sustainability and corporate communications officer, in a message to SunStar.In a statement sent to SunStar, PLDT also said: “We are yet to receive a copy of the complaint, but we can assure the government and the public that PLDT and Smart have always supported and ensured fair competition in the telco industry. (SunStar Philippines, CTL)