Available frequencies enough for 3rd telco player — DICT
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) revealed that there was enough frequencies to accommodate a third player that could compete with Globe and Smart.
The inventory of frequencies was based on the submissions of views and comments during a recent call held by the. government agency.
In their comments, Dodie Elvina of Converge, Sundance Apolinario of G-Telecoms and Jonathan Stevens of TierOne were unanimous in agreement that the 300MHz frequencies identified by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) would be enough to compete with existing telco players.
According to Apolinario, “new technologies are here now and we can layer (frequencies). Most phones can take the higher frequencies.”
Stevens of TierOne, on the other hand, said existing frequencies can be modified to drive 5G, noting that manufacturers are now able to deliver fast to the market mobile phones at a fraction of what they cost.
“We have a program now to give free cellphones to the rural sector to farmers who need lifeline connectivity for crop support and micro-finance,” Stevens said.
Earlier, DICT Secretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. said that the remaining frequencies are “enough” for the third player to compete with PLDT and Globe.
Stakeholders in attendance at the recent call for submissions of views and comments also said they found the timeline prescribed by the government for the entry of the new major player too short.
Several reasons mentioned by company representatives were the need for time to finalize their financial arrangements with their foreign partners and the upcoming holidays in February (Chinese New Year) and March (Holy Week).
Former NTC Commissioner Ronald Solis, who was also in attendance, mentioned that back in 2005 during the 3G frequency assignment, drafting of the memorandum circular and public consultations took more than a year to complete.
Meanwhile, Shenzhen Zone Daily reported yesterday that China Communication Technology Co. acquired G-Telecoms as part of the latter’s global expansion.