Poe: Entry of new players may bring ‘far-reaching’ reforms in telco industry

Sen. Grace Poe. INQUIRER.net photo / CATHY MIRANDA

Amid consumer complaints of slow internet speed, excessive fees for inferior service and disappearing load, Senator Grace Poe said she remains optimistic that the entry of major telecommunications (telco) service providers would bring “far-reaching reforms” in the industry.

Poe, chair of the Senate public services panel, said she supports efforts to break the telco “duopoly” as she encourages more players to bid for the country’s new telco providers.

“Isa ‘yan sa mga itinutulak natin na magkaroon ng kompetisyon—hindi lamang Globe at Smart—para mas mabilis at mas mura ang serbisyo sa publiko,” Poe told a crowd of about 15,000 in San Jose Del Monte City in Bulacan.

(That is one of the initiatives we are pushing, which is to have a competition, not inly Globe and Smart, so we can have an affordable and efficient service.)

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is currently working on the selection process of the third telco company in the country. The agency reportedly set the submission of bidders’ proposals from Nov. 5 to 7, and the bidding’s start is set on Nov. 10.

The senator said bringing in a third telco player or more “means more choices for better and efficient service for the Filipinos,” who are among the world’s top internet users.

Poe recently held a hearing to update lawmakers about the third telco selection. Her committee is set to convene another “explanatory” hearing upon resumption of session next week and by the time the government announces the third telco by this month.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology and the NTC has said that they will announce a “provisional” third telco player by Wednesday, Nov. 7. /jpv

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