PT&T in talks with Chinese companies for telecoms partnership
MANILA — Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (PT&T) is talking to eight Chinese companies, mostly in telecoms, to form strategic partnerships as it aims to become a major player in the domestic telecoms market, its chairman said on Tuesday.
Salvador Zamora, chairman of PT&T, told Reuters the company expects to sign a deal with a Chinese firm providing broadband services by Dec. 15. He said PT&T is looking for strategic partners to expand its broadband services and launch cellphone operations in the next few years.
Mr. Zamora in August bought into the Philippine firm, which provides broadband services in Manila and adjacent provinces.
On Monday, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said President Rodrigo R. Duterte has offered China the “privilege” of being his country’s third telecoms operator, turning to a historic rival to break a long-standing duopoly that has frustrated consumers for years.
The Philippines’ data and voice services rank among the Asia-Pacific’s slowest and most intermittent, and Mr. Duterte last year warned providers PLDT, Inc. and Globe Telecom, Inc. to shape up or face new competition.
Mr. Duterte made the offer last week to visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the latest sign of his pursuit of closer political and economic ties with a country with which the Philippines has a long history of territorial disputes and mistrust.
“The good news is consumers can look forward now to better telecommunications, not just in terms of cellular technology but also in terms of Internet speed, as well as access,” Mr. Roque told a media briefing. “The announcement is that telecoms duopoly is about to end.”