PLDT-Smart laud House nod on bill mandating allocation for cell sites in subdivisions

Telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. and its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. on Friday lauded the passage of a measure requiring all housing developments to allocate an area for the installation of information and communication technology infrastructure.

The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, approved on third and final reading the House Bill No. 10388 or “An Act Mandating the Allocation of an Area for Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure and Facilities in Subdivisions and Housing Development Projects.”

“This welcome development will help ease the roadblocks that telecommunications companies experience in their rollout especially in subdivisions as many homeowners’ associations and communities still prohibit the construction of cell sites and other telecommunications infrastructure due to perceived health risks, aesthetic reasons, among others,” PLDT-Smart president and CEO Al Panlilio said in a statement.

“To promote the accessibility of information and communications technology and ensure digital connectivity in urban centers and populated areas of the country, this bill mandates all housing projects, subdivisions, villages or other residential  areas, including socialized housing projects to allocate 30% of the gross area for open space for the establishment of ICT infrastructure and related amenities,” Panlilio said.

The use of the area that has been identified and allotted by the relevant local government and homeowners’ association for ICT Infrastructure shall not be subject to any further consent from the homeowners’ association, he said.

The PLDT-Smart chief said the telco is embarking on an information and education campaign to address the health concerns of these homeowners’ associations.

“It is our hope that with these twin measures, we will gather support from homeowners’ associations and communities for our rollout of telecommunications towers and infrastructure in their subdivisions and communities,” Panilio said.

The Senate was also urged to support the legislation as “we continue to ramp up our efforts to provide connectivity throughout the country.”

“PLDT and Smart continue to be committed to support the government’s call for enhanced connectivity, particularly in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, to keep all of us connected and engaged,” he said. -NB, GMA News