DICT extends common tower licenses to 15 years

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) announced Friday it has extended the license life of shared telecommunications tower infrastructures in the country as a part of efforts to cut red tape and provide tower companies a longer, faster leeway to build.

In a statement, the DICT said it issued Department Circular No. 6, series of 2025, extending the validity of tower licenses from five years to 15 years.

The ICT Department said extending the license term aims to speed up tower rollout, reduce regulatory friction, and align the Philippines with global standards, where licenses last 10 to 30 years—or indefinitely in some countries.

The measure also reinforces the DICT's Common Tower Policy under Department Circular No. 008, series of 2020, which allows multiple telcos to share tower sites instead of building their own—helping speed up deployment, cut costs, and expand coverage nationwide. 

The tower license term extension was jointly launched by the DICT and the Information Tower Companies Association of the Philippines (ITCAP).

The ceremony was led by DICT Secretary Henry Aguda and PhilTower MIDC President and ITCAP representative Devid Gubiani, together with executives from Alliance Towers, American Tower, EdgePoint, EDOTCO, Frontier Tower Associates, Ison Tower, LDIC, PhilTower MIDC, and Unity Digital Infrastructure.

"Less red tape. More towers. Faster internet. That's the message. The DICT is here to move, not wait," said Aguda. — VDV, GMA Integrated News