THE third telco initiative has once again found itself in limbo, no thanks to the controversial congressional franchise of winning bidder Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co. Inc. (Mislatel), pushing back timelines for its rollout and operation indefinitely.
Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Eliseo M. Rio said Mislatel—a group backed by businessman Dennis A. Uy and China Telecom Corp. Ltd.—was able to submit some of its post-qualification requirements, but failed to forward those that are linked to its franchise.
“We cannot move until we get a definite answer from Congress. The House of Representatives and the Senate have yet to reconcile through a bicameral meeting their resolutions for the franchise of Mislatel. We are waiting for them to finish reconciling the two resolutions,” he said in a press briefing.
Realistically, Rio said the bi-cam resolution may be released after the May 13 elections, unless the two legislative bodies set up a special session for Mislatel’s franchise.
“So, we’re in a status quo until we get the resolution,” he lamented.
Mislatel’s franchise has been questioned by critics, which prompted both chambers of Congress to conduct separate hearings for it.
The franchise was not utilized since it was granted by lawmakers two decades ago due to the “armed conflict in Maguindanao,” its chosen area of operations.
Likewise, the groups sought for the transfer of controlling stake in Mislatel to the camp of Uy, a close associate and campaign funder of President Duterte. Both legislative bodies approved the transfer, albeit different in wording, hence the need for the consolidation of the resolutions.
“Basically we cannot give them the frequencies and their certificate of public convenience and necessity—their permit to operate—until we get the approval of the bicam, so they cannot operate as a telco now,” Rio said.
This puts all the timelines indefinitely on hold. Mislatel wanted to start operations by 2020, based on its rollout plan submitted to the Senate.
Once all these have been addressed, the regulator may then award Mislatel its own certificate of public convenience and necessity and a swathe of radio frequencies, both of which will allow it to operate telco services across the Philippines.
Based on its bid, Mislatel will cover roughly 37 percent of the whole Philippines with a minimum Internet speed of 27 Mbps through a P150-billion capital and operational expenditures budget during its first year of operation.
Its five-year commitment entails P257 billion in total money spent, which should provide for an 84-percent coverage with a minimum Internet speed of 55 Mbps.
The third telco is seen to break the duopoly of Globe and Smart, and introduce more competition in the hotly contested local telco market.