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TO BE AWARDED TO 3RD TELCO PLAYER

PLDT to return CURE frequencies at no cost —DICT


Telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. will no longer ask for compensation of its investments on the frequencies it surrendered, which will be awarded by the government to the chosen third telco player, an official of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said on Wednesday.

"After talking to MVP yesterday, PLDT will return the CURE frequencies at absolutely no cost, that can now be awarded to the New Major Telco Player (NMTP) as per instruction of [President Rodrigo Duterte]," DICT officer-in-charge Eliseo Rio said in a post on his Facebook page.

Rio was referring to business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan, the chairman and CEO of PLDT Inc.

Rio's announcement was confirmed by Pangilinan in a text message.

"Yes, it's true," the PLDT chair told GMA News Online.

Pangilinan supposedly quoted P3 billion as a good price for the third telco to compensate PLDT for the investment in Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprises (CURE).

The DICT intends to reassign the frequencies earlier awarded to CURE, a unit of PLDT, to the third telco player.

Rio noted that Duterte did not take well Pangilinan's suggestion regarding compensation for the CURE frequencies it surrendered back to the National Telecommunications Commission in 2011.

The government compelled PLDT to divest from CURE—which holds 10 megahertz of the 55 megahertz of the 3G frequency band—and surrender its frequencies in exchange for the NTC's approval of its merger with Digitel Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel), the then owner of Sun Cellular brand.

On Tuesday, Duterte threatened to place under tax audit telecommunications firms seeking compensation for returning radio frequencies.

“‘Wag ninyo tatakutin, kaso-kaso. Maya-maya magdating ‘yang BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue] and start to audit you during the first year of your business,” the President said in his speech during the 45th anniversary celebration of the National Economic and Development Authority in Pasig City.

Duterte, however, clarified that his threat was not a form of harassment.

“Harass? No. Kung magnanakaw ka ... Sino bang hindi nagnakaw diyan sa kanila? ‘Yan sila. Not during my watch,” he said.

Duterte wants to have a third telco operational within the first quarter of 2018 to break the so-called duopoly of Globe Telecom and PLDT, but the department has said that potential bidders were asking for a mid-April deadline due to several holidays.

But the President rejected the DICT’s request for more time. —With a report by Virgil Lopez/ALG/BM, GMA News

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