GOVERNMENT PUSHES FOR COMMON TOWER POLICY

THE government unveiled on Friday a plan to implement a common tower policy, a move expected to hasten the building of more communication towers across the country and lower telecommunications companies’ operational costs.

According to businessman and Presidential Adviser on Economic Affairs and Information Technology Ramon Jacinto, the plan is in response to the difficulty Globe Telecom and PLDT Inc. are having in securing permits for such towers.

The two telcos have long called on the government to address red tape, which impede their efforts to set up more cel- lular sites.

Jacinto said the solution the Cabinet came up with is the policy that see operators colocate in a common tower.

He added that, while Globe and PLDT Inc. telco subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. may be shocked by the policy, he believed they would later appreciate it.

“[ T] hey will be able to free [ up their] capital expense and [ relieve themselves of] the headache of building towers and concentrate on operations and updating their radios,” Jacinto said in a briefing in Makati City.

If the policy is implemented, the number of cell sites nationwide would increase to 50,000 towers from the current 16,000.

Once the common tower is built, the 50,000- tower target would be attained in five years, Jacinto said.

The presidential adviser also said the government is looking for three to four foreign firms to invest in the plan.

American Tower, a global provider of wireless communications infrastructure, has expressed interest to become a common tower provider, he added.

One common tower can accommodate three to four telcos, Jacinto said, noting that this would pave the way for the expected entry of a still- unnamed third telco, as it does not need to build its own towers.

According to him, building a single tower costs $ 100,000 on average, or requires total investments worth $ 5 billion.

The government aims to release the official policy guidelines next month, and expects deals with common tower providers to be signed by the last quarter of 2018, Jacinto said.

The policy’s actual implementation may happen in the fourth quarter or early next year, he added.