A NETWORK of consumer groups has urged the Duterte administration to take charge of the operations of third telecommunications system instead of a private entity to ensure affordable and quality service.
This was after Mislatel Consortium, a partnership between China Telecoms and business tycoon Dennis Uy’s Udenna and Chelsea Corp., bested two other companies to get the third telco slot, which will supposedly provide competition and break the duopoly of Globe Telecommunications and the Smart-PLDT companies.
Consumer network Samahan at Ugnayan ng mga Konsyumer para sa Ikauunlad ng Bayan (Suki) said this is the “Filipino people’s best chance against allowing private companies to unduly burden consumers with high rates yet problematic service.”
“Government should instead run the public utility optimally…and ensure efficient telecommunications services at affordable prices for all Filipinos,” Suki said in a statement.
“Consumers fear that the third telco might simply join the duopoly in charging what would be among the higher Internet rates worldwide. Uy is known not only to be a close associate of the President, but a growing mogul in the food, fuel, gaming, ports and retailing sectors, among others. Businessmen are profit-seekers by nature…and may not run their share of the telecoms industry differently from the existing duopoly,” the statement added.
Moreover, Suki also pointed out the need for the government to take charge of developing and operating the country’s telco infrastructure to improve services as it noted the country ranked 176th of 202 countries worldwide for having a download speed of 3.64 Mbps, which is eight times slower than the global average of 23.3 Mbps.
Citing a 2016 independent report, Suki said that on the average, Filipino broadband users spend $18.19 per Mbps on the average, which is more than thrice the global average of $5.21 per Mbps.
“Even if lower interconnection rates have supposedly been set by the National Telecommunications Center [NTC]—from P2.50 to P0.50 per minute for calls and P0.50 to P0.05 per text message—consumers have not observed proportionate reduction in their spending,” the statement read.
Suki also said the Telecommunications Act should also be amended for the government to regain control of the public service.
“Government can perhaps allocate, give or take five years to facilitate the third telco operations toward building a more efficient telecommunications infrastructure than the current ones,” said Mac Yanto, Suki convener and Internet and communications technology network TXT POWER spokesman.
Thus, the state can enhance the public utility and provide reliable telco services at nonprofit rates that the public can easily avail themselves, Yanto said.
“Public utilities like telcos, water, power and mass transport facilities should be what comprise government’s massive infrastructure program,” he said. “Government should be allocating funds primarily on what the public and the nation need for decent living and progress, rather than prioritizing hyped infrastructure that are, in fact, big-ticket projects for big businesses and their foreign partners.”