The Philippines’ two dominant telecoms service providers, Globe Telecom and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT), have activated their recently signed interconnection agreements in the provinces of Cagayan and Nueva Vizcaya, allowing their customers to make fixed calls to one another’s network without incurring additional charges. The new agreement removes the former commercial contract that charged a long-distance rate when calling one another, regardless of the destination, and simply requires PLDT users to enter a seven-digit dial code to connect with Globe or vice versa.
To date, the country’s two heavyweight telcos have signed interconnection arrangements in the areas of: Metro Manila, Cavite, Iloilo City, Batangas, Cebu City, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Leyte, Davao City, Pampanga, Bulacan, Zamboanga, Laguna, Quezon, La Union, Nueva Ecija, and Benguet, General Santos, South Cotabato, Tarlac, Davao del Norte, Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Zambales, Ilocos Sur and Capiz.