“The government’s share is to get out of the way.”
That’s what Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) chair Manuel V. Pangilinan said when he was asked what the government could contribute to help in its multibillion-peso digital shift. Pangilinan made the statement during PLDT’s annual stockholders meeting in Makati City last week.
Government ‘meddling’ not needed
“Pangilinan said that some people, including people from the government, do not understand the implementation of major infrastructure needed to transform PLDT and Smart’s services into digital, and they could block the huge project, expected to be operational by 2018, because of lack of understanding of it,” reports Judy Quiros on Inquirer.net.
Pangilinan’s statement about the government’s meddling may stem from recent developments.
PLDT linked with Globe Telecom to buy Vega Telecom Inc., the telco business of San Miguel Corp. (SMC), for PHP69.1 billion. The move is supposed to “improve the internet services of PLDT and Globe.”
Regulator fears ‘restriction of competition’
Inquirer.net report noted: “However the country’s new anti-trust body Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said the PLDT-Globe deal would not be approved until after a comprehensive review. The regulator’s decision could spur PLDT and Globe into taking legal action, as the two telcos consider the transaction approved under the PCC’s own ‘transitory’ guidelines.
“Under those guidelines, deals closed after the new competition law took effect but before its implementation rules take effect are deemed approved. The PLDT-Globe deal with SMC was sealed on May 30, four days before the publication of the competition law’s implementation rules.”
PLDT and Globe said they filed the required transaction notices under the PCC guidelines so the regulator could no longer challenge the deal. However, PCC said “the transitory guidelines did not dilute its authority to review transactions, especially if required by national interest and public policy.”
PCC further explained, “The review is intended to ensure that the transaction will, in the end, result in sustained gains for the public by not restricting competition.”
Path to faster Internet elusive so far
Last May 22, President-elect Rodrigo Duterte warned the country’s telecommunications companies that he would open the Philippines to foreign entities if they failed to improve their Internet services.
READ: Duterte to telcos: Improve Internet connectivity or I’ll open PH to foreign competition
On May 30, PLDT and Globe Telecom announced that they were teaming up to buy Vega Telecom Inc., the telco business of SMC, for PHP69.1 billion. PLDT and Globe explained that the move would Internet services.
READ: PLDT and Globe buy what would have been San Miguel-Telstra venture, promises faster internet for all
With this move, PLDT and Globe took over what would have been SMC’s joint venture with Australian telco Telstra.
READ: Boo hoo: SMC-Telstra Internet parternship is no longer happening
The move also means that (among other things) PLDT and Globe now has access to the 700MHz frequency, which is defined as “a type of low-band frequency noted for its ability to cover wide spaces and penetrate walls at lower costs.”
A Philippine Daily Inquirer report Miguel R. Camus had noted: “SMC owns almost all of the 700 MHz spectrum (694 MHz to 790 MHz), previously assigned for analog television broadcasting before it was shifted for telecommunications use as TV migrated to digital. SMC would have used this to carpet the country with a ‘better and cheaper’ mobile Internet service.”
Perhaps, this is what is causing PCC’s apprehensions?
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