Foreign Internet providers waiting to enter PH market

President Duterte said that foreign Internet service providers were trying to enter the local game but weren’t able to due to inaction by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

Duterte reiterated his desire to open up the market to foreign telecommunications players to provide cheaper and faster communications service to the public.

Duterte, in an interview over state-run PTV-4 Friday evening, said he knows that the Philippines had been lagging behind in terms of Internet speed in Southeast Asia.

“That is why I was hurrying up competition. The only way to improve your service is bigyan kita ng kompetisyon (if I give you competition). Or if there are only two of you, mag-uusap kayo (you would come to terms),” Duterte said.

Duterte said, however, that if there are only two companies in the playing field, they could agree on a price and control the market.

When asked if there were foreign companies who have expressed intention to enter the country, Duterte said that there were, but that he was unsure as to the number.

“Nandiyan na sa opisina niya eh (The proposals were already in his office). I don’t know [how many there are ],” Duterte said, referring to the office of then-DICT Secretary Rodolfo Salalima.

“[There's a] Chinese [company]. May mga Amerikano rin but… walang action (There are also American countries but nothing happened because there was no action),” he added.

Duterte said he would have understood if Salalima just released the papers if he couldn’t act on them so if the papers, by chance, reached him, he would have been able to resolve them.