On Thursday of last week, the Chief Justice made a ruling order BTL to “reinstall all equipment belonging to (Smart) from its sites and towers” and_ “provide (SMART with) reasonable and non-discriminatory terms for all telecommunication services ordinarily offered when requested by the claimant including E-1 service.”
At the time it seemed simple enough, but there are so many technical nuances, and so many shades of meaning that implementing the decision proved difficult for BTL. First of all, there’s nothing “ordinary” - as the CJ put it – about the E-1 service which SMART was leasing from BTL to make its long distance phone calls. That’s because it was an unfiltered E-1 access which simply means it allowed SMART to use the line for voice over internet calls – which no other operator or individual can “ordinarily” access – no matter how much they pay.
BTL has been hedging over these nuanced meanings for the past week, but the Chief Justice says he doesn’t want to hear it; an order is an order and yesterday he gave BTL 48 hours to comply unreservedly or face contempt charges. So the E1 access – as we understand it is being restored and the equipment – which BTL’s claim is a trespass is being re-installed. And that should stand until next week when the Public Utilities Commission issues its own ruling on the E1 access issue. That is expected on the 23rd.
