DICT is eyeing how to recover unused radio frequencies from Globe and PLDT

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is studying how to reclaim radio frequencies that are not being used by telecommunications companies.

It will review all unused radio frequencies to determine which may be reassigned to the upcoming third player in the industry.

“Magkakaroon kami ng review ng lahat ng frequencies. ‘Yung ‘di ginagamit, pwede naming bawiin,” DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. told reporters on Thursday.

The frequencies that will undergo the audit have been awarded, Rio said on the sidelines of a public hearing on the draft terms of reference for selecting the third telco player.

“Everything awarded na. Ngayon, if they are being used or not, or if they are not being used efficiently, ‘yun ang aming gagawan ng study kung paano kunin ulit,” he said.

Two years ago, Globe and PLDT gave their respective positions on unused frequencies.

“The government should not allow assigned spectrum to remain idle and unutilized, since this would be detrimental and injurious to the public interest,” PLDT Regulatory Affairs and Policy Office head Ray Espinosa said in 2016.

“We support this to finally eradicate stock piling of frequency assets and not using it. These limited assets should be used for public benefit by institutions that have the capability to use them,” said Globe senior vice president Yolanda Crisanto.

During the public hearing Thursday, lawyer Ruel Soriano raised concerns about the available frequencies under the terms of reference. He said what is available is thin and not enough for a company to compete with PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc.

The radio frequencies that would be made available for the third telco are 700 megahertz (MHz), 2,100 MHz, 200 MHz, 2.5 gigahertz (GHz), 3.3 GHz, and 3.5 GHz.

“Itong frequencies na available are already interesting enough, kasi pagpasok na pagpasok nitong third telco, halos wala silang subscribers. Siguro for the first half of next year, mga six months after, wala pa silang isang milyon. So they don’t need that much frequency,” Rio noted.

“By the time that they will really need the frequencies at kulang na sila, that time umiiral na 'yung guidelines and policies namin, and maybe, may batas na tayo,” he said.

National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said that the spectrum included in the terms of reference is sufficient to start building a network and compete.

That is why it is important to recover and reassign the unused frequencies assigned to the telcos for the benefit of the new player, Rio noted.

He said they are looking at increasing the spectrum users’ fee to compel holders to surrender the frequency to the government.

“Ang hirap kasing magbawi ... Dadalihin kami sa korte niyan. So ang kinakwan namin is … kasi ang pagbigay natin ng frequency is administrative. Pero pagkuha will be quasi-judicial na pwedeng dalhin sa court. Nagiisip kami ng isang paraan para pati ‘yung pag-withdraw will be administrative din,” Rio noted.

“Like, for example, pwede namin taasan ‘yung spectrum users fee sa mga frequencies na hindi ginagamit. It becomes uneconomical for them to hold on to that. So isa ‘yun sa mga pwede naming gawin,” he said.

Rio said the DICT is advocating for a law on the equitable distribution of frequencies. But while the law is pending, the department will come up with guidelines and policies on the matter.

“Ginagawa na namin actually ngayon. Except kailangan pa ng konting refinement before we really come up with the policy guidelines na magiging guidance para sa NTC to implement ...”

The guidelines will also determine the efficient use of frequencies that are already awarded, especially taking into consideration the bandwidth in relation to the network traffic and the number of subscribers actually using the network.

“Kung masyadong mababa, ibig sabihin you are not using it efficiently,” Rio said.

“Therefore, we can say that ito lang ‘yung frequency for your present or for the near future ... ‘Yung over and above that award na halos hindi mo na nagagamit, ‘yun ang pwede namin dagdagan ng spectrum users fee, para mapipilitan sila isoli.” —With Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA