3rd telco player must pay P3 B for 3G – MVP

A new player entering the local telecommunications industry should pay at least P3 billion for the 3G frequency turned over by PLDT unit Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprise (CURE) to the government, according to PLDT chairman, president and chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan.

“I don’t know how much it would cost or at what price it would be bid for. But P3 billion is a good price,” Pangilinan told reporters.

However, he said the amount is not up for PLDT to decide.

“It is not really up to us. It is with the NTC (National Telecommunications Commission) already,” he said.

Earlier, the NTC said the 3G frequency surrendered by CURE would be part of the spectrum to be assigned to a new telco player.

The NTC said the new player may have to pay PLDT over P3 billion for the 3G frequency of CURE.

PLDT surrendered the 3G frequency of CURE to the NTC in 2012 as one of the conditions set by the government for the telco’s acquisition of Sun Cellular from the Gokongwei Group.

The NTC earlier planned to hold an auction for the 3G license of CURE, but was unable to bid it out due to issues in determining the cost recovery amount.

Earlier this month, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) released the guidelines on the qualifications, as well as criteria for selection for the entry of a new major telco player.

Under the guidelines, the applicant with the highest committed investment for the first five years will be selected as the new telco player.

DICT officer-in-charge Eliseo Rio Jr. said the third telco player would have to invest at least $3-to $4-billion for the first five years.

According to the guidelines, the NTC would release no later than Feb. 19 a memorandum circular containing the terms of reference for the selection and assignment of radio frequencies.