Common tower policy implentation delayed
Credit to Author: Lisbet K. Esmael| Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2020 17:14:18 +0000
The implementation of the common tower policy has been delayed possibly this coming March, as it continues to face hurdles, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said on Wednesday.
Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gregorio Honasan 2nd said the policy might be released “in the next few weeks”— another delay from the planned 2019 release. It was also intended for release on January and February this year.
He said the policy was now on its “final draft” after collecting inputs from industry players.
The delay, Honasan said, stemmed from “bureaucratic problems.”
“But I am not blaming anybody. It’s our job really. We just want to be thorough, comprehensive and be guided by what the data tell us. The delays are explainable, in short,” he told reporters on the sidelines of third telco player Dito Telecommunity’s tower inspection in Quezon City.
The push for a common tower policy started in 2018, but has been plagued with issues as Presidential Adviser on Economic Affairs and ICT Ramon Jacinto wanted to limit the telecommunication industry to a number of players, and bar current carriers PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. from building their own.
The proposed policy drew disapproval not just from potential players and the so-called duopoly, but also from the Philippine Competition Commission.
Given the gridlock surrounding the planned policy, the DICT began banking on opening the market to common tower builders, whether domestic or foreign firms, in an aim to boost the number of cell sites across the country to 50,000 towers. The country currently has less than 20,000 towers.
PLDT and Globe have long blamed red tape in the slow deployment of cell sites across the country, stressing at least 20 permits are needed to construct one tower.