Mislatel group to lose P24B if it fails 3rd telco commitments

Mislatel Consortium stands to lose P24 billion if it fails to live up to its promises as the third telecommunications provider, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Wednesday.

The money is a performance bond the consortium must post once it qualifies and is declared as the third major telecommunications player after PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc., DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio said in an interview on ANC.

Led by Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy, Mislatel made the following commitments in its third telco bid:

• to invest P257 billion in five years

• to provide internet speeds of 27 megabits per second in its first year of operations and 55 Mbps in its fifth year

• to cover 34 percent of the population in its first year of operations and 84 percent in its fifth year

“This is the first time in our history that we required the new telco player to have a performance bond,” Rio said. “The bond is in the post qualification. Before we give their frequency, they need to post the bond.”

The performance bond is forfeited in favor of the government if the third telco fail to meet its commitments.

“If the third telco doesn’t live up to its promise, it will lose P24 billion to the government. The new telco must be able to perform and put its money where its mouth is,” Rio said.

“If they failed to meet their commitments, they will not only lose their bond, they will also lose their frequencies. And so we expect to see the biggest improvement in their first year of operation. The existing telecom companies PLDT/Smart and Globe did not have to do that,” he added.

To ensure quality telecom services, the Duterte administration intends to have more telecom towers under the Build, Build, Build program.

“What we are trying to do now is have a common tower provided for the telcos. Before, Globe and Smart had to do everything themselves. Now, Globe and Smart will also benefit from the towers,” Rio said. —Llanesca Panti/VDS, GMA News