Globe: Improvement of services hampered by permit, right-of-way issues

MANILA, Philippines — One of the country's major telecommunications company said Monday that it welcomes the possible entry of a third player in the local market as it stressed that efforts to improve telephone and internet services were hampered by permitting and right-of-way issues.

The government said more than a week ago that China Telecom, a state-run firm, could be the third telecoms player in the Philippine market as the government continued to take steps to improve services in the country, already some of the poorest and slowest in the region.

China Telecom's possible entry came on the heels of Duterte's invitation to China to invest in the local telecoms market during his bilateral meeting with Li Keqiang, China's premier. A spokesman for the president said the decision to invite a Chinese company was "political" as the chief executive wants to further improve the Manila and Beijing's relations.

Yoly Crisanto, Globe's Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications, maintained that they are not solely to blame for the country's poor internet service, pointing to permitting and right-of-way issues that prevented the company from building "last mile connectivity."

"Time and again, we have maintained that the biggest hurdle in delivering consistently good internet service is the cumbersome permitting and right of way issues that prevent us from building the last mile connectivity," Crisanto said in a statement.

"Moreover, similar to how spectrum were distributed to existing players, the allocation of frequencies should be commensurate to the number of customers that any player provides services to," she added.

The senior official said that Globe is ready to compete with another telecoms player, especially if this would result in more active participation in developing the industry.

"If the entry of a new player can increase the density of cell sites in the country, existing players like Globe also stands to benefit," she said.

Crisanto added that any government support that would help expand or improve existing telecoms facilities would benefit the industry and the country as a whole.

During his first months in office, Duterte warned Globe and rival Smart to improve their services or he would open the local market to international players.

Foreign firms, such as China Telecom, however, have to find a local partner as Philippine laws limits foreign ownership of a public utility to 40 percent.