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Tag: PLDT

  • Philippines prepares for nationwide rollout of 911 hotline

    Philippines prepares for nationwide rollout of 911 hotline

    The Philippines’ Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), operators, private organizations, media partners and other government agencies have started testing the nation’s new 911 emergency hotline.

    The new emergency hotline will be rolled out nationwide on August 1. The new service was made possible by an agreement signed by the the different government agencies including the DILG, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

    The agencies were responding to the instruction of newly elected President Rodrigo Duterte to designate a number people can call in response to a national disaster.

    Other signing agencies were the Foundation for Crime Prevention (FCP), Philippine Information Agency (PIA), and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP).

    The agreement covers the transition to make the existing 117 hotline and the new 911 emergency hotlines accessible to call for the general public through each party’s respective networks.

    The DILG said the existing 117 hotline will be utilized for 911 hotline operation starting next month. The current hotline has 15 seats, 43 agents and database of Philippine National Police (PNP) units, including their mobile, local government Units and its emergency numbers and teleconference capability.

    Retired General Eliseo Rio Jr. of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and currently consultant to 117, said that after August 1, the current 15 seats will increase to 30 and the existing 43 call center agents will be increased to 90.

    The country’s two leading telecommunications players – PLDT and Globe Telecom – both expressed support for the government project. In a statement, Globe’s Legal Counsel Froilan Castelo said the company is ready to comply with the government directive to provide access to 911 and 8888 numbers for government emergency hotline and complaint hotline.

    Globe has long used the 8888 number as its own customer hotline. However, the company will give way to the government request and will instead change to a new hotline number for its more than 57 million customers.

    At the start of the testing period last week, DILG Secretary Ismael Sueno reportedly called 911 twice using a landline and a cellular phone in the presence of officials from concerned agencies to see how the operation will flow.

    The test calls – as well as the simulation exercises that will be made between July 21 to July 31 – seek to close possible gaps that will be encountered once 911 goes public.

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  • Philippines’ new ICT chief orders spectrum audit

    Philippines’ new ICT chief orders spectrum audit

    The chief of the new Philippines Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has ordered the inventory of used and unused telecoms spectra.

    In his first public speaking engagement and media interview since assumption into office on July 1, DICT Secretary Rodolfo Salalima said frequency is a scarce public resource and the patrimony of the nation.

    “I do not want public telephone entities to be warehousing frequencies, meaning getting assigned frequencies from the government, storing it without using it but using it for speculative purposes,” he said.

    He clarified that this act is contrary to the Philippine Constitution and a public service law which states that frequency must be assigned only to those who can make it effective and efficient use of it.

    “If they (telecommunications companies) have not used these frequencies within a reasonable time as stated in the position of giving or assigning to them the frequency, we better start revoking these frequencies because it ought to be assigned to telcos that can effectively and efficiently utilize them,” he added.

    The DICT Chief, however, gave assurances that due process will be observed if the department will resort to revocation of spectrum licenses or permits if some telcos are found to have not used them within the prescribed period.

    “We will hear them out,” he said, further clarifying that what telcos pay for is only the use of the frequency. “They do not become owners of these frequencies because they can never be owned under the Philippine Constitution.”

    The issue stemmed from the recent co-purchase of the telco business of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) by the country’s two dominant carriers – PLDT and Globe Telecom, which the government’s antitrust body, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) now wants investigated.

    Salalima said frequency is crucial to the operations of telecommunications companies in servicing the public.

    “This is the reason why to my mind, PLDT and Globe have to purchase control of the holding company of SMC so that at least they can have part of the frequency (not the entirety) needed for them to further improve the service,” he said.

    He clarified though that he is leaving it to the PCC to decide on the issue of whether the telco buyout deal is in the best interest of the public. His concern is the efficient use of spectrum, especially in light of the need to improve internet connection speed in the country and public services.

    Newly elected President Rodrigo Duterte has given local telecommunications players one year to shape up telco services and internet speed or ship out.

    The DICT, which was given the mandate to make policies and plans in regard to telco services and the country’s ICT infrastructure, is still in the transition period. It is currently awaiting the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the law that created the new department only last May.

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  • Philippine competition watchdog to probe SMC deal

    Philippine competition watchdog to probe SMC deal

    The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has announced it will conduct a “comprehensive review” of the 69 billion peso ($1.49 billion) acquisition of San Miguel Corporation’s telecoms assets by PLDT and Globe Telecom.

    The regulator has sent letters to the operators informing them that a thorough review will be undertaken.

    Such a review includes an investigation into whether there will be substantial changes to the market structure and the potential impact of the transaction on public welfare.

    In a statement, the newly-formed PCC said it had decided to conduct the investigation “based on the totality of information available to us, including public statements made by the parties,” which led the authority to “believe there is a basis to conduct this review by virtue of the powers granted to the PCC by the Philippine Competition Act.”

    The PCC recently decided not to accept PLDT and Globe’s initial application for the merger, claiming it was “deficient and defective in form and substance.”

    The operators had recently resubmitted parts of their application to address the regulator’s concerns, while maintaining that their initial application was sufficient.

    PLDT and Globe announced in late May that they have arranged to acquire SMC’s telecoms assets, including its coveted 700-MHz spectrum holdings, in a deal worth a combined 69.1 billion pesos.

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  • San Miguel selling telco assets to PLDT & Globe

    San Miguel selling telco assets to PLDT & Globe

    Philippine conglomerate San Miguel corporation is selling its telecom business to incumbent operators PLDT and Globe following the collapse of its JV negotiations with Telstra.

    Under the agreement, San Miguel will sell its telecom unit Vega Telecom for 69.1 billion pesos ($1.48 billion) inclusive of 17.02 billion pesos worth of liabilities. PLDT and Globe will each acquire half of the business.

    Vega Telecom owns controlling stakes in multiple telecom-related units. These are BellTel, Eastern Telecommunications, Cobaltpoint Telecommunication (formerly Extelcom), Tori Spectrum Telecommunication (formerly Wi-Tribe) and Hi-Frequency Telecommunication.

    The acquisition will finally grant PLDT and Globe access to radio spectrum in the coveted 700-MHz band, which San Miguel currently holds a monopoly on.

    PLDT and Globe have been petitioning the government for years for access to this spectrum, but the regulator had so far declined to act to recall the spectrum.

    In addition to the 700-MHz spectrum the acquisition also covers frequencies in the 900-MHz and 1800-MHz bands, PLDT said in a stock market filing.

    But as part of the deal, PLDT and Globe have agreed to relinquish part of the 700-MHz, as well as 850-MHz, 2500-MHz and 3500-MHz bands to regulator NTC to allow the potential entry of a third operator into the market.

    “This transaction offers a breakthrough opportunity, not only for the companies involved but also for the industry and the country. This will enable existing operators to provide significantly improved Internet and data services to the public and to our customers in the shortest possible time,” PLDT CEO Manuel V Pangilinan said in a statement.

    “ At the same time, it leaves the door open for new entrants into the industry. Taken together, thiswill enable the industry to better support the country’s development efforts – especially significant with the onset of a new government.”

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