But in a statement, Smart's legal and public affairs department said: "The awarding of 3G licenses has been a transparent process. The NTC came up with that decision after so much deliberation.'

'It's not as if it sprang out of surprise. There were set (of) rules and we simply abided with the process set by the NTC," the statement continued.

Reps. Danilo Suarez (Quezon, 3rd district) and Simeon Kintanar (Cebu, 2nd district), chairpersons of the House of Representatives' committees on oversight and ICT, respectively, are currently preparing a report on the matter.

The NTC was given a 30-day ultimatum to nullify the 3G licenses awarded to four operators.