3rd telco to get permit to operate by July 8 —DICT

Incoming third telecommunications player Mislatel Consortium is set to receive in two weeks' time the necessary requirements for the company to start operations.

Acting Secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Eliseo Rio, Jr. on Sunday said Mislatel is scheduled to receive its certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) on July 8.

"Mabibigyan na sila ng kanilang, 'yung CPCN nila, 'yung permit to operate nila, 'yung authority to operate, at 'yung mga frequency nila by July 8, 'yan ang naka-schedule," Rio said in an interview on GMA Super Radyo dzBB.

The DICT is set to award Mislatel with frequency bands of 700 megahertz (MHz), 2100 MHz, 2000 MHz, 2.5 gigahertz (GHz), 3.3 GHZ, and 3.5 GHz.

Mislatel Consortium was officially declared as the "New Major Player" by the NTC on November 19, 2018, after it committed a nationwide coverage of 84.01%, a minimum speed of 55 megabits per second (Mbps), and capex/opex of P27 billion in its fifth year of operations.

The consortium is made up of Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp., its subsidiary Chelsea Logistics Holdings Inc., China Telecommunications Corp., and Mindanao Islamatic Telephone Company Inc.

"Of course ngayon, kahit wala pa 'yung kanilang mga frequency at 'yung CPCN ay gumagawa na sila ng imprastraktura, kasi talagang 'di sila makakuha ng subscribers kung wala silang mga cell site at 'yung ibang imprastrukture ng telekomunikasyon," said Rio.

In April, Udenna Corp. inked a $5.4-billion agreement with China Telecommunications Corp. to formally develop the Mislatel Consortium.

Looking ahead, Rio said Mislatel is likely to have established its own signal in five months or by November this year.

"Mga before the end of this year, siguro mga third quarter or fourth quarter ay siguro sa Metro Manila magkakaroon na sila ng signal," he said.

"Mga siguro November this year, magkakaroon sila ng signal siguro dito sa Metro Manila," he added.

Rio in April said Mislatel may start having subscribers by October. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/LBG, GMA News