Ayala-led Globe Telecom (including Innove) and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) have expanded the interconnection of their landline services to cover the province of Camarines Norte, BusinessWorld reports. The pair confirm that the deal kicked into effect on 19 June, allowing fixed telephony users in Camarines Norte to make calls to other carriers without incurring long-distance call charges. Until now, the lack of a reciprocal arrangement in the region meant customers were forced to make a domestic long-distance (DLD) call when calling one another. The interconnection deal is in line with provisions for compulsory interconnection of authorised public telecommunications carriers under Republic Act No. 7925.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, in December last year Globe and PLDT inked a new fixed telephony interconnection agreement covering the provinces of Bataan and Isabela, similarly enabling customers in each province to call users on each other’s network without incurring additional call charges. In addition to Camarines Norte, Bataan and Isabela, Globe has existing interconnection agreement with its main competition in Metro Manila, Cavite, Iloilo, Batangas, Cebu, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Leyte, Davao City, Pampanga, Bulacan, Zamboanga, Laguna, Quezon, La Union, Nueva Ecija, Benguet, General Santos/South Cotabato, Tarlac, Davao del Norte, Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Zambales, Ilocos Sur, Capiz, Cagayan, Nueva Viscaya and Iloilo.