Time and again, BusinessWise has been consistent in voicing out its belief that the slow Internet connectivity in the country is borne out of the lack of cell towers.
The mobile phones, personal computers and laptops we use are completely useless without a network to power them. The speed by which we receive Wi-fi in our homes and the data we get when we’re outside are all reliant on the number of cell sites within the area. As I have stated in at least two previous columns: I do not believe that it is the intention of Globe Telecom and Smart-Philippine Long Distance Telephone to deliberately rob their customers of better and efficient services, although as a loyal customer since its dial-up days in the 1990s, I too have often complained about PLDT’s bad service.
Unfortunately, the road to providing excellent Internet service has not been easy for both telecom giants, and they have no choice but to bear the brunt of angry customers and grandstanding politicians. Despite their vast war chest and a gigantic bandwidth at their disposal, the two giants are hounded by a not-so-friendly environment that has effectively stalled their expansion plans. There are simply not enough cell towers to distribute the needed signal to speed up Internet connectivity in the country.
Telecom companies’ woes start with site acquisition. They have to disabuse the minds of the people in an area they wish to put up their cell sites on that cell towers do not affect their health. Various reports citing radiation leakage from these cell sites abound online. A case in point was the rejection by the San Lorenzo Village Homeowners Association in Makati of Globe’s expansion project in their subdivision.
Granting that a telecom firm succeeds in getting the right location and securing the approval of its owner, there are still the neighbors in the vicinity to contend with, and the right of way problem is often laden with graft. The nightmare doesn’t stop there. In a perfect world, it takes two years for a single tower to be put up. In the Philippines, where bureaucratic red tape rules, constructing a single tower takes an eternity. Prolonged license tenders and corruption in local government weigh down the rollout of the much-needed infrastructure to improve the country’s Internet connectivity.
To date, the two telecom companies have only been able to build only a little more than 20,000 cell sites in more than 30 years of operation. Most of these aging cell sites are inoperable while undergoing retrofitting. Worse, those of Globe’s, which are in remote areas, are continually being blown up by Communist insurgents for nonpayment of revolutionary taxes. One wonders why those of PLDT’s remain unscathed. Just imagine the time and money spent to build these telecom infrastructure, for them to be merely sabotaged by that bandit group, the New People’s Army.
For our country to have at least a decent Internet service, we need at least a minimum of 60,000 cell sites. By comparison, Vietnam has over 250,000; Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand have over over 300,000 each. The country’s Internet delivery will remain at a snail’s pace, thanks to a ridiculous expanse of certifications and the time it takes for local government units (LGUs) to approve them. Compared to other countries where construction processing takes only a day, telecom companies here have to endure at least 24 stages and close to 100 days just to secure a construction permit. This already excruciatingly drawn-out exercise often becomes 10 times slower due to corruption and inefficiency.
The time it takes for an LGU to approve each permit is simply mind-boggling. Not only that, most of the charges that the local government levies are unjustified, according to industry sources. For example, an LGU charges P200,000 per year on a single tower. Multiply that by 30,000 cell sites.… You get the drift. There are other permits and requirements, including for environmental impact and the concern about building cell sites in protected areas. The point is, there is no need for a third telco. If President Rodrigo Duterte is truly serious in improving the country’s Internet connectivity, he only needs to address swiftly and astutely the problems being experienced by the two telcos we now have. The dispatch with which he is relentlessly pursuing his controversial war on drugs would be better applied in solving the country’s Internet woes, among other things.
Mislatel—a consortium of Davao businessman Dennis Uy and China Telecom—was confirmed by the National Telecommunications Commission as the new major telecommunications player. It secured a provisional third telco rights on November 7 of this year, after regulators disqualified its two rivals, Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. of Benjamin Bitanga and Salvador Zamora II, and Sear of former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson. A third bidder, PT&T, has questioned before the Supreme Court its disqualification. The case is still pending.
With the hostile environment in which Philippine telcos operate, how then can Mislatel overcome complications in building cell sites of its own? And can it ever deliver within three years as Duterte has promised? In my humble opinion, it simply can’t.
This early, China Telecom—which probably now has a more objective view of the country’s telecom landscape—is reportedly already feeling overwhelmed by the enormous challenge it is about to face. In talks with local industry players, the Chinese firm was allegedly “fidgety” when it was briefed about the project it has signed up for. Mislatel will likely piggyback on existing cell sites of both PLDT and Globe. Globe, if it hasn’t done already, will sell its existing cell sites to Ayala Energy and Infrastructure Group, specifically its subsidiary, Ayala Infra. It is more likely that Mislatel is now in talks with Ayala Infra and PLDT for the rentals of their cell sites.
But let us not lose sight that these cell towers are either undergoing major repairs or retrofitting, which will take years to finish. In the past three years, Huawei, which has been tasked to do the job, has been able to retrofit or repair at most less than 1,000 cell sites out of 30,000. These repairs and retrofitting are meant to enhance the two telcos’ services alone. It has not yet provided for another retrofitting to accommodate a third telco player.
Just like his yet-unfulfilled 2016 promise to improve the Metro Manila traffic situation in 100 days, Duterte‘s most recent bold statement to solve the country’s slow Internet speed in three years sounds more like a pipe dream. Even if he were long gone, the third telco player will still be maneuvering around the country’s treacherous business climate. It is not far-fetched to imagine it will eventually be bought out by or merged with either of the two local telecom giants.
Don’t get me wrong! I am all for healthy competition, if the situation will be enhanced by several players offering the best package from which consumers can choose from. China Telecom brings with it a fairly impressive pedigree. But Dennis Uy?
For comments and suggestions, e-mail me at mvala.v@gmail.com
1 comment
Honest opinion my ass. Okay sana kung wala kang hidden agenda.
Better Dennis Uy than yu 😁. Puro ka haka-haka, puro ka fear mongering, bayaan mo mag-isip at mag-analyze ang mga tao. Tapos saka ka magwala pag nangyari na.