Telco presses NTC anew to bid out idle frequencies

CEBU, Philippines - Globe Telecom reiterated its call to the government that the 700 megahertz (MHz) spectrum currently held by San Miguel Corp. (SMC) be distributed equally to the industry.

Emmanuel Estrada, Globe's senior vice president for technical services, said that the 700 MHz frequency is well-suited for wide coverage in both suburban and rural areas.

Yoly Crisanto, the firm's communications head, said that bidding out the 700 MHz frequency, which is optimum for mobile broadband connectivity, would pave the way for increased Internet speed in the country.

"Why is it necessary? Because there is no single player right now in the market and in Philippines and even in the world that has full monopoly of any particular spectrum," she said in a forum Tuesday in Cebu City.

This particular spectrum can now be used for LTE (Long-Term Evolution), she said. LTE is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals.

SMC currently holds almost the entire 700 MHz spectrum through its subsidiaries Wi-Tribe and High Frequency Telecommunications.

As early as 2005, Globe and dominant player Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. started calling the National Telecommunications Commission to bid out the 700 MHz frequency.

Estrada said government's intervention in the inefficient allocation of this limited spectrum resource is key.

Previous reports quoted SMC President Ramon Ang as saying that the conglomerate would use the frequency to launch its telecommunications venture this year.

It can be recalled that last March 14, SMC and Australia's Telstra Corp. Ltd. announced that they had stopped negotiations after failing to agree on the telco joint venture.

But SMC had said it would enter the local telco industry alone but it remains open to partnerships.

These developments come at a time when consumers are clamoring for better and faster Internet services in the Philippines.

Presently, the country's telco industry is dominated by two major players, Globe and PLDT. — (FREEMAN)