P150-B firm secures green lane status

P150-B Malaysian telco project gets green lane endorsement, to roll out of 25,000 common telco infra in Phl

The telecommunications infrastructure of Malaysian company EDOTCO Towers Inc. worth a total of P150 billion has been facilitated as it gained green lane certification from the Board of Investments, through its One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments.

Trade Undersecretary and BoI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo personally handed over the Green Lane Certificate of Endorsement to EDOTCO Towers officials during a recent awarding ceremony at the BoI main office.

EDOTCO plans a balanced rollout of 25,000 common towers.

This strategic deployment spans urban and rural areas, addressing the needs of Mobile Network Operators and aligning with the government’s efforts to enhance mobile network access and internet penetration in underserved and unserved regions.

The telecommunications infrastructure developed by EDOTCO will form the base and platform for future mobile broadband networks in the country.

Also, the project will play a huge role in introducing new technologies such as 5th Generation, or 5G, mobile broadband networks and large-scale Internet of Things applications through its shared infrastructure offered to service providers and government agencies with open access and a nondiscriminatory basis.

New technologies employed

EDOTCO will utilize non-conventional energy resources such as photovoltaic systems, wind, biomass, fuel cells, energy storage systems, or hybrid solutions, provided that site conditions are optimal for its use.

It also seeks to use analytics software to ensure continuous improvement in the operations of the network and avoid or minimize outages at sites, as the project is deemed to strengthen the telecommunications infrastructure and will attract more investors as connectivity is critical in supporting business operations.

Energy costs are substantially reduced to the advantage of the Mobile Network Operator and this reduced consumption (on an aggregated basis) places less demand on the national grid.

Another sustainable solution is the introduction of green energy.

“The project will benefit Filipinos through an increase in national employment rates and positive growth to domestic skilled labor pools with long-term transfer of knowledge from multinationals. Employment will not only come from the construction of infrastructure but from operations and maintenance as well,” the company said in a statement. Registered as a domestic stock corporation in 2018, EDOTCO focuses on constructing, owning, operating, maintaining, and leasing out telecommunication towers to telecommunication operators.

It was the first foreign investor in common towers in the Philippines and was recognized as a government-linked company in Malaysia,” the company said in a press statement.