Globe Telecom Inc. said Monday the government is losing hundreds of millions annually for failure to reallocate an unused mobile frequency held by San Miguel Corp.
“Government is losing at least P250 million in annual spectrum users fees with the embargo of the 700-megahertz frequency—revenue that the country needs for public welfare and public services,” Globe director for policy division, corporate and legal services group Ariel Tubayan said during the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines’ business forum in Makati City.
Tubayan said Globe would ask the Philippine Competition Commission to look at San Miguel’s control over the entire 700-Mhz band.
“I think it would be more appropriate to approach the PCC, maybe after election,” Tusayan said.
PCC plans to publish the implementing rules and regulations of the competition law by June this year.
San Miguel Group owns 100 Mhz of spectrum in the 700-MHz band, of which 80 Mhz was assigned to wi-Tribe Telecommunications Inc., 10 Mhz to High Frequency Telecommunications Inc. and 10 Mhz to New Century Telecommunications Inc.
“Control over a key resource such as a valuable frequency for providing LTE [long term evolution] is potentially anti-competitive and reduces completion in the 4G space,” Tubayan said.
Tubayan said frequencies needed to be allocated to continue expansion either by open tender or public auction.
Under Republic Act No. 7925 or Public Telecommunications Policy Act, radio frequency spectrum is a scare public resource that should be administered in the public interest and granted to the most qualified service providers who will use it efficiently and effectively, he said.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Smart Communications head of public affairs Ramon Isberto earlier described San Miguel’s holding of the entire 700-MHz band as “anti-competitive.”
He asked the government to reassign the 700 MHz to other existing telco players.
Spectrum is the “real estate” on which telecommunication operators develop their respective network to deliver services to customers.
Utilizing the 700 MHz would allow the deployment of a high-capacity LTE based wireless and fixed broadband network to deliver higher data rate and LTE wireless broadband service.
With the use of the 700 MHz frequency, broadband prices can go down further benefiting consumers.
San Miguel president Ramon Ang earlier turned down the request of Globe and PLDT to share some of its 700 Mhz, as it plans to offer its own mobile broadband this year.