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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Absence of franchise delays third major telco operations

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Mislatel Consortium of Davao City-based businessman Dennis Uy and China Telecom is unlikely to start operations as the new third telecom player in the first quarter this year in the absence of a Congressional franchise, the Department of Information and Communications Technology said Monday.

“They could not start. They could not get the frequency and the CPCN [certificate of public convenience and necessity] to operate as a third telco until we can get the approval of the bicameral committee,” DICT acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. told reporters. 

“It’s not their fault. We have to wait for them,” he said.

The Senate adopted Concurrent Resolution 23 on Feb. 6 which approved the transfer, sale or assignment of the controlling interest of Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co. to  Uy’s Udenna Corp., Chelsea Holdings Corp., and state-run China Telecommunications Corp.

Rio said the agency was now awaiting Congress to resolve Mislatel’s Congressional franchise. 

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The 17th Congress adjourned its session on Feb. 9 and would resume on May 20 to June 7.

Mislatel Consortium, composed of Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp. and Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp., and state-owned China Telecom, was named as the new third telco but failed to complete its post-qualification requirements to obtain its CPCN.

The National Telecommunications Commission said the consortium had yet to submit a copy of its business plan, authentication/consularization of foreign documents and rollout plan because of the issue on Congressional franchise. 

Milatel, however,  secured the Philippine Competition Commission’s approval for bidding agreement implementation and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s clearance after proving that the terms of bidding agreement were compliant with foreign equity ownership. 

Under Mislatel’s rollout plan, the company would roll out its network immediately upon securing the CPCN  from the NTC. 

Mislatel’s network should be ready and testing should start within 12 months from the CPCN issuance.

The 17 cities/municipalities in Metro Manila will be covered as the priority in the first year, as well as parts of Central Luzon, Calabarzon and the Ilocos region.

More than 20,000 barangays are supposed to be covered by the fifth year.  The population coverage was expected to reach 84 percent by that time.

Mislatel Consortium said it would spend P257 billion in infrastructure and service rollout during the five-year period.

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