Vodafone eyeing entry in Phl as 3rd telco player

British telco giant Vodafone is exploring the possibilities of entering the country's telecommunications market as the new major player, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Wednesday.

Diokno said “the possibility of Vodafone entering as our third telecommunications” were some of the highlights of the economic team's meetings with the British business sector last week.

Pressed for more information, the Budget chief clarified that Vodafone has not officially expressed interest yet but “they want to come in, in a big way.”

“We just discussed the possibilities. We told them we are introducing the third telco and we are welcoming proposals,” Diokno said at a breakfast forum in Pasig City.

“They are making their due diligence and they are trying to find out if it is worth their while to participate...”

The Budget chief said Vodafone may participate in the ongoing selection of the third telco player or partner with a local telco. Diokno also added that Vodafone wanted to make sure that their reputation will be protected as “they don't want to get involved in shady deals.”

The local companies that so far expressed intent to participate in the third telco initiative are PT&T, Now Corp., Converge ICT, Transpacific-Broadband, and TierOne.

The foreign firms identified by the DICT are China Telecom, KT Corp., LG U+, KDDI Corp., Vietnam Telecom, Telenor, and AT&T.

Because the industry is considered a duopoly dominated by rivals PLDT and Globe, calls have been made by no less than President Duterte and the public at large for a third telco player to raise the quality of service while lowering the costs to consumers.

(GMA News Online)