PLDT, Globe blame red tape for slow internet

PLDT and Globe Telecom on Friday said too many permits required by the government were hampering their efforts to roll out more cell sites that would improve internet speeds in the country.

This was the reaction of the socalled telco duopoly after a govern on Facebook regarding the “slowest and expensive internet access” in the Philippines.

- nect to the internet via Globe and Smart mobile networks. But they have only 20,000 cell sites, such that around more than 5,000 subscribers share a tower when the more ideal ratio should be one tower per 1,000 subscribers,” Eliseo Rio, Department of Information and Communications Technology ( DICT) officer- incharge, said in a post on Tuesday.

Rio said at least 67,000 cell sites were needed to be comparable with Vietnam’s internet quality. He added that even with the two purchase the P70-billion telecommunications assets of San Miguel Corp., their services have had “no real improvement ... because they lack towers.”

“And Globe and Smart’s capacity to build towers is only around 2,000 a year,” he said.

The two telcos stressed they had the capacity to add more cell sites but the permits system was slowing them down.

“Our biggest hurdle in delivering consistently good internet number of permits and right-ofway issues that prevent us from building the last mile connectivity that would allow world-class internet services to be enjoyed by the ordinary household or any person using a mobile phone,” Ernest Cu, Globe president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

“We have repeatedly called on the government to help address these issues that are prevalent at the local government level. Now with more people adopting internet use much faster than the infrastructure can be built, then the problem gets exacerbated,” he added.

Cu also attributed the problem to “non- standardized tower fees across LGUs ( local government units) and real property tax challenges.”

The Ayala-led telco noted that in order to establish a single cell site, it has to secure 25 permits from LGUs, which usually takes “at least eight months to complete.”

Cu agreed that increasing cell sites could give the Philippines a chance to keep up with Asian countries, but he noted that “we keep comparing ourselves with developed countries and our highly developed Asian neigh what we don’t realize is that we are facing problems unique to the Philippines.”

Speaking for PLDT Inc., Ramon Isberto, head of public affairs and spokesperson, said in an email that the group was continuing to ramp up the launch of cell sites in order to provide better internet coverage for consumers.

“With respect to cell sites, we have been doing two things over the past year. First, we have been re- equipping our existing sites with additional LTE and 3G base stations to further improve our mobile data services. We have made much progress here and expect to finish that process by next year and bring better high- speed mobile data to over 90 percent of the country’s cities and towns. Second, we are also acquiring additional sites,” he explained.

“In both cases, we face challenges, particularly in acquiring new sites. Some of these problems stem from the numerous government permits required. Others - taining homeowners approval,” Isberto added.

In a phone interview, Rio told TheManilaTimes that the government acknowledged the issue and was looking for ways to eliminate red tape.

He added they are also targeting to facilitate the construction of towers by entering into public- private partnerships whereby a private firm can build towers for the government and for the telcos.