PLDT bags 45K telco permits

PLDT Inc. said it was able to secure a record number of permits this year, as the government reduced red tape and streamlined permitting guidelines for telco infrastructure builds.

Alfredo S. Panlilio, the company’s president, said the PLDT and wireless subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. secured over 45,000 fixed and wireless permits this year.

“As the economy re-opens and our countrymen continue to recover from the pandemic, the demand for reliable internet connectivity only continues to accelerate. As such, we are one with our government in ensuring faster delivery of quality connectivity to more Filipinos nationwide,” he said.

The Anti-red Tape Authority, National Telecommunications Commission and the Department of Information and Communications Technology earlier eased permitting requirements for telco infrastructure given the huge demand for Internet connectivity due to the pandemic.

“Government initiatives such as the streamlining of permitting guidelines for our cell sites and fiber lines are really helpful in expediting the expansion of our network across the country,” Panlilio added.

These include the simplification of the permitting process for cable laying, including the erection of poles, construction of underground fiber ducts, and installation of cables and facilities along national, local, and subdivision roads, including pavements and sidewalks.

PLDT claims to have the most extensive fiber infrastructure with 615,000 kilometers as of end-september and the widest 5G network with around 6,400 base stations nationwide.

In March, PLDT said expects its telco core income to grow by about 6 percent to as much as P30 billion this year, driven mainly by the projected growth of its home, wireless and enterprise businesses.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, the company’s president and chairman, said the profit guidance of P29 billion to P30 billion is in line with the continued growth of the telco’s bottomline, as it continues to surmount the negative effects of the pandemic.

Pangilinan said the home broadband business will likely post a high double-digit growth, while both wireless and enterprise verticals will be in the high single-digit levels.

Revenues this year, he added, are expected to post a high single-digit increase, which he described as “a compulsive number.”

Pangilinan is optimistic that the company will move past the P30billion telco core income mark in the coming years, as the company introduces new solutions in the market beyond connectivity.