More foreign telco players are looking to invest in the Philippines, according to DICT.
DICT — On Monday, the Department of Information and Communications Technology said that more foreign telecommunications players are showing interest in setting up shop in the Philippines following the enactment of the amended Public Service Act which liberalized the sector.
During the blessing of its new office in Quezon City, DICT Secretary Emmanuel Rey Caintic said that the DICT will speed up the process of applications to anyone who wants to enter the Philippines to offer telecommunications services.
Caintic also said that some of the telecommunications companies are from Europe and the United States but he didn’t disclose names.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) earlier said that it has met with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for the rollout of its Starlink satellite broadband service in the Philippines.
READ ALSO: DTI Says Government Officials Meet With SpaceX For Potential Starlink Expansion In PH
According to DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez, the agency would assist SpaceX in permitting. He added that SpaceX is currently scouting for locations.
Caintic said that SpaceX is processing its papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and that it still needs permits from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the DICT.
“Sa atin naman, inaantay natin makumpleto mga papeles para maka-umpisa sila maka-operate. Pagkatapos nun magtatayo pa sila earth stations, may mga ilang buwan pa silang kailanganin,” Caintic said.
Caintic said that the DICT is also constructing common towers and common fiber networks so that all players, foreign and local, would find it easier to connect to the system.
Earlier, PLDT Inc sold almost 6,000 telco towers for PHP 77 billion. Its chairman Manny Pangilinan said that the portfolio could give the buyers a headstart in their common tower operations in the Philippines.
ABS-CBN News reported that the Philippines has one of the lowest tower-to-subscriber ratio in Asia.
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