Government warned vs bidding out 3G frequency

MANILA, Philippines - Lopez-owned Bayan Telecommunications warned government against bidding out the last remaining third generation of mobile communications (3G) frequency, saying the matter is still the subject of litigation.

This developed as the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) defended its plan to award the last 3G slot via a bidding process, arguing that it is necessary to expedite the award as non-usage of the frequency deprives prospective subscribers of easier access to services it can provide.

It noted that the government has lost approximately P300 million in potential income through spectrum user fees, at the current rate of P65 million a year, due to the non-assignment of the last 3G slot for the past five years.

“The process was envisioned to go through open tenders as contained in Republic Act 7925 (Public Telecommunications Act) when demand for frequencies exceed supply as is currently the practice in most countries in the area of radio frequency spectrum assignment,” the NTC said.

The commission also revealed that it would seriously study comments expressed by current 3G frequency holders namely, Globe Telecom, Smart Communications and Digitel Mobile in a recent public hearing as to their exclusion from the proposed bidding of the remaining 3G radio frequency band as well as other comments and concerns raised by the other stakeholders in the industry. The fourth 3G slot was assigned to Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprise (CURE), a company subsequently acquired by Smart.

The proposed new 3G rules specifically disqualified awardees of 3G frequencies and their affiliates from applying for the assignment of the remaining 3G frequency.