NTC unlikely to allow PLDT to bid for the 3G frequency it surrendered

The government has yet to receive a formal request from Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) to bid for the 3G frequency of Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprise (CURE), but already it has hinted opposition to the idea. “We haven’t received anything official on that matter, but I think that runs counter to our decision in October 2011 [on] PLDT Group’s acquisition of Digitel,” said Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Monday. PLDT last year surrendered to NTC CURE's 3G frequency as part of conditions for the acquisition of Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel). The NTC said PLDT and its affiliates are not allowed to join the public bidding, but telecommunications firm said the NTC should remove restrictions on who could join the bidding in order to get a good price for the 3G frequency. "We should be allowed to bid because in the end, it's the question of the price,” PLDT head of regulatory affairs and policy Ray Espinosa had earlier said. “For us, the value of the frequency is no less than P5 billion.” Espinosa added that they are willing to bid “P5 billion and above" for CURE's 3G frequency. Both the Ayala-controlled Globe Telecom Inc. and diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) have expressed keen interest in the frequency.   The PLDT Group surrendered to NTC the 3G frequency of CURE being used by its wireless arm Smart Communications Inc. in the middle of last year. Smart acquired CURE from former trade minister Roberto Ongpin in 2008 for P419.54 million and invested P1 billion in it.   The divestment of CURE’s 10 megahertz 3G frequency was one of the conditions set by the NTC in approving the sale of the 51.55-percent stake in Digitel of businessman John L. Gokongwei Jr. to the PLDT group for P69.2 billion in 2011.   The surrender of CURE's 3G frequency and its permits came after the PLDT group successfully transferred the 1.1 million subscribers of Red Mobile to Smart last July.   Under the terms of the NTC approval of Digitel's sale to PLDT, the telecom giant is barred from taking part in the auction. — KBK, GMA News