DICT: Concerns on entry of new telco player addressed

MANILA, Philippines – Initial concerns on the entry of a new major telecommunications player (NMP) in the country have been addressed by the Mislatel Consortium, the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) said Thursday.

DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr., during the Senate probe on the third telco, said four concerns were identified during the selection process: frequencies available, interconnectivity cost, use of dark fiber, and the establishment

“We are glad to tell the body, that all four of these concerns have been substantially addressed,” Rio said during the Senate hearing.

Rio said more frequencies were made available to the new player by having five megaHertz of 3G frequencies. This puts Mislatel ahead of Globe Telecom regarding 3G frequencies.

As to the interconnectivity cost concern, the National Transmission Commission (NTC) came up with a memorandum circular that would make interconnection charges from P2.50 to P.50, which he said is one of the lowest in Southeast Asia.

The Mislatel Consortium also signed a joint partnership venture with the National Transmission Corporation (Transco) for the use of 2,200 dark fiber for its “backbone” operations this January.

“The NMP can now use the backbone of Transco. It will not have to make its own,” Rio said.

Lastly, the DICT addressed the concern on the establishment of common towers in the country by opening the market to common tower providers (CTP) through memoranda of understanding.

According to Rio, this CPT policy opens the opportunity for billions of dollars in investment that will create thousands of jobs locally.

“The CTP policy makes possible the entry of $4.4 billion investment in the construction, maintenance, and operations of at least 50,000 common towers in the country generating hundreds of thousands of jobs,” Rio said. /cbb