PLDT Inc. is lukewarm to the proposal of the Department of Information and Communications Technology to reallocate mobile phone frequencies to accommodate the entry of a new player.
“That’s a serious matter of public interest, right? And I think we should give careful attention to that particular subject matter,” PLDT chairman and president Manuel Pangilinan said.
“In so far as we are concerned, we are clearly using extensively the frequencies we have acquired from San Miguel. They’re actively, extensively used by Smart and Sun and Talk N’ Text,” he said.
The DICT is currently drafting a memorandum order for the reallocation of mobile phone frequencies, which is controlled by the duopoly of PLDT and Globe Telecom.
PLDT and Globe jointly acquired 100-percent equity interest in San Miguel’s Vega Telecom for P70 billion in 2016, which gave them access to 700 megahertz frequency held by Bell Telecom.
Pangilinan said his company was preparing for the entry of a new player and allotted a significant amount this year to further improve its network. “We welcome a third player, all we can do at this stage would be to prepare for that but also the main role is to really build a superior network for fixed and wireless to ensure that the service is world class,” he said.