New telco players should undergo same selection process, have commitments to gov’t —DITO

Telecommunications duopoly challenger DITO Telecommunity Corp. said Wednesday aspiring mobile telecommunications players should undergo the same selection process it has undergone and should have cash-bonded commitments to the government.

“I think, if there’s going to be a fourth telco, fifth telco, to be fair they should also undergo the same process as we did, which is a competitive bidding and have requirements in terms of equity, performance bond, and government commitments,” DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.

In 2018, DITO - formerly Mislatel Consortium - was declared as the country’s new major player after a tedious selection process wherein bidders submitted service commitments to the government.

DITO is composed of Udenna Corporation, Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure, and China Telecommunications Corporation.

As part of the conditions in its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, the company committed 27 megabits per second (Mbps) internet speed and at least 37% of population coverage in its first year of operation. DITO is targeting to commercially launch or onboard subscribers in March 2020.

In its fifth year of operation, the third telco committed 55 Mbps internet speed and 84% population coverage.

Should it fail to meet its commitments DITO will lose its P24-billion performance bond in favor of the government.

On Monday, NOW Telecom Co. Inc. said it scored a provisional authority to operate as the country’s “fourth mobile telco.” 

According to NOW Telecom, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued the extension of the firm's PA last Monday, September 14, 2020, to install, operate, and maintain a nationwide mobile telecommunications system.

To recall, NOW Telecom already secured regulatory approval extending its PA in September 2019, after it announced plans to enter the fifth generation (5G) wireless network a month earlier.

The extension of the PA, however, is subject to a number of conditions which include the infusion of additional capital of at least P1.9 billion.

This is based on the two-P6.3-billion capital expenditure program for the first two years, as submitted and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said, however, that NOW may not have enough frequencies to compete with incumbents Globe Telecom Inc., PLDT Inc., and third player Dito Telecommunity Corp.

Cabarios said then that most of the frequencies held by NOW are only on the 3,500 megahertz (MHz), the midband of the spectrum which can only cater to a niche market.

While Tamano did not comment on NOW Telecom’s “fourth telco” claim, he said that “if there new telcos coming in, it would be great if they go to the same process as DITO.”

No special treatment

The DITO official also dispelled rumors that the company is getting “special treatment” since its chairman, Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy is close to President Rodrigo Duterte.

Uy is among the top contributors to Duterte’s campaign kitty in the 2016 elections, donating P30 million.

“Actually, we have not been treated equally. For example, we have a memorandum of agreement to co-locate in sites owned or operated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Tamano said.

“Now, the duopoly they have co-located sites in AFP territories. But our MOA is so much stricter, we are not allowed to bring foreigners into the AFP sites,” he stressed.

Tamano also noted that DITO is required to have a Department of Information and Communication Technology and National Security Adviser-approved cybersecurity plan.

“We have been held to a much higher standard in terms of keeping confidential information, protecting the country and consumers against cybersecurity threats,” he said.

“We don’t get any special privileges. We actually were given challenges. Smart and Globe, they don’t have a performance bond to rollout. We have to put that up because the government wanted an assurance that only bonafide companies will win the award of new major player,” he added. -MDM, GMA News