Globe calls for distribution of 700 Mhz band after scrapped Telstra-SMC venture

After Telstra Corp. Ltd. has announced that it has ceased negotiations with San Miguel Corp. for its joint Internet venture in the Philippines, Globe has issued a press statement calling for the distribution of 700 Mhz band held by SMC.

“This new development about Telstra ending its plan of entering the Philippine market doesn’t change anything as regards to our business direction. The more serious concern is why SMC is being allowed to hold on to the entire 700 Mhz band. We call on the NTC to immediately distribute the 700 Mhz for fast deployment of high-capacity LTE based wireless and fixed broadband that would benefit the entire country. At present, the Philippines is one of two remaining countries in Asia Pacific with pending issues that prevent the utilization of the 700 Mhz frequency.” — GLOBE

Globe and PLDT are the two companies that have been calling for the government to distribute that unused 700 Mhz frequency in favor of active telcos. Aside from the Philippines, the other country that has not utilized the said frequency is Thailand.

According to Globe’s press statement released in November 2015, SMC holds 90 Mhz out of the total 100 Mhz on the 700 Mhz band. The company’s Wi-Tribe and High Frequency Telecommunications control 80 Mhz and 10 Mhz respectively, while New Century Telecommunications holds the other 10 Mhz.

Diangson Louie

This article was written by Louie Diangson, Managing Editor of YugaTech. You can follow him at @John_Louie.

https://www.yugatech.com

11 Comments

Make up your mind says:

9 years ago

Why is the government passive about this???
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ExYzeee says:

9 years ago

Hindi kasi naiintindihan ng government kung ano yang mga yan, kaya wala silang ginagawang aksyon
binoy says:

9 years ago

The government, through NTC, should not listen to Globe & PLDT on this matter. Both of them have already cornered the big chunk of the 700 mhz to 2100 mhz LTE frequencies at 84 percent. People should know that LTE frequencies are not limited to 700 mhz only. As it is, both telcos can’t even provide decent service at an affordable cost compared to other providers in the region & still they want to dismember SMC, a potential competitor, by getting their allocated frequencies. This is simply pure GREED! What NTC needs to do is order both Globe & PLDT to maximize their use of their current frequency allocations so that they can improve their service.

Easy E says:

9 years ago

Sana wag pumayag ang NTC. An laki na ng spectrum na hawak ng Globe at PLDT/ Smart sa mas mataas na spectrum. Pano pa magkakaron ng “third” player kung wala nang spectrum available?
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noemail says:

9 years ago

who wants a duopoly???
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SunCell Subscriber says:

9 years ago

@Binoy @EASY E 700 MHz is very crucial in terms of deploying cellsites, as it would require less towers to cover a larger area. A new player would not need majority of the 700 MHz spectrum to build a formidable telco entity. In other countries, it is distributed at around 20% share per telco, with the remaining being handled by the government. In our case, SMC owns 90%.

Are PLDT and Globe being greedy? Well, looks like SMC is the one being greedy here. I’m sure Ramon Ang is just waiting for a business proposal coming from PLDT or Globe to sell some of their frequency. And again, NTC remains to be a weak commission for not acting up on this issue.

In the long run, SMC will need frequencies coming from the 1800 or 2100 spectrum. I’m pretty SMC is just playing the ball wisely. You want some 700 MHz? Give us additional frequencies from 1800/2100MHz. In the end, I can assure you SMC is not doing this for the betterment of PH’s telco space, but solely for BUSINESS.
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binoy says:

9 years ago

@SUNCELL SUBSCRIBER

The deployment of the 700 MHz cell sites is actually not needed by the current telcos (i.e. Globe & PLDT) in order for them to provide a better service & at a lesser cost than what is being offered by other telcos in the region. Let’s take Singapore as an example. This country have been offering a best in class service at a minimal cost compared to ours & yet they have not made use of the 700 MHz frequency in deploying their service.

As I stated in my comment, both Globe & PLDT already owns a big chunk of the frequencies between the 700 MHz to 2100 MHz range. They actually have a bigger allocation compared to what SMC currently owns.

Everyone knows that the telcos are there primarily for business & to earn profits for their owners & shareholders. What’s not right is for Globe & PLDT, in trying to justify their demand for the release of the 700 MHz, to tell everybody that for them to offer better service is for them to own a part of this frequency range. Bottom line is, they just want to curtail the potential of SMC as a future big player in this industry & become a threat to their mediocre service.

Anon says:

9 years ago

Its a terrible idea to sell ANY share of this specturm to either PLDT or Globe we need a 3rd player that will use that spectrum exclusively so there will be at least a 3 way competition. If this is opened to both Globe and PLDT then say hello to lousier network and customer service.
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wtf says:

9 years ago

anti-competition….with current duopoly and low telecom return on investment resulting to crappy internet service and high connection cost, i would let san miguel keep the bandwidth for at least 2 years…
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pong says:

9 years ago

Shut up globe pinapatay nyo LTE nyo every morning
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Edwin Subijano says:

9 years ago

Globe Telecom should be shut down and nationalized !!! The Telecom industry in the Philippines is a cartel and there is no more legitimate competition. Cartels and monopolistic capitalism (as practiced by Globe and Smart) is a heavy yoke on the Filipino people. And these big telecoms keep squeezing every peso from the pockets of the citizenry.

The 700 MHZ band should not be given to Globe or Smart. let there be more competition from legitimate companies.
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