Page 157 - SAMENA Trends - September 2019

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

hold a CMTS license in the Philippines – the others Telecommunity (formerly Mislatel) in July this year,
being PLDT-Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, the government of the Philippines is now working
DITO Telecommunity and ABS-CBN Convergence. to develop a new framework to reallocate unutilized
Pantoja also praised the approval as a clear sign of spectrum in the hope it can encourage even more telcos
the government’s efforts in promoting competition by to enter the market. The secretary of the Department of
further liberalizing the telecommunications industry, Information and Communications Technology (DICT),
noting that his company’s network upgrade ‘would Gregorio Honasan II said that plans are afoot to draft
provide an affordable and reliable option for day-to- a new Frequency Management Policy. When asked
day wireless communications needs of enterprise and about the possibility of a fourth or even fifth player to
some sectors of the general consumer [segment]’. join DITO Telecommunity, Honasan told reporters: ‘We
However, NTC deputy commissioner Edgardo V will rationalize that also. It will require getting back
Cabarios suggested NOW Telecom may find it hard frequencies that are allocated. It requires a frequency
to compete in a domestic mobile market dominated management policy’. Speaking on the sidelines of the
by the de facto duopoly of PLDT-Smart and Globe, BusinessWorld Industry 4.0 Summit Honasan noted
and soon to see the arrival of fresh competition in the that the proposed Frequency Management Policy
shape of new third telco DITO Telecommunity. ‘There would allow DICT to audit the use of frequencies and
are so many players in the market in the first place, but recover those that are currently underutilized. With the
when we talk about mobile there are only three major country’s big two – PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom –
players,’ he said. Cabarios went on to point out that reportedly promising to support the government’s drive
with a limited 20MHz allocation of bandwidth in the to reallocate unused spectrum, Honasan was unable
3.5GHz band, NOW ‘really cannot compete’, but could to put a definite timeframe in place for the new policy
target a niche market. (September 10, 2019) telegeography.com framework, noting that the focus now remains on the
third telco launch. ‘I cannot say, I cannot be locked into
In the wake of the successful award of frequency certain timetables because as we speak, variables are
licenses to the country’s new third telco DITO coming up,’ he said. (September 9, 2019) GMA News

Poland’s Minister of Digitization has said he is in Poland’s Ministry of Digitization (MC) and telecoms
favor of a single nationwide network in the 700MHz regulator the Office of Electronic Communications
band which will be made available to all operators (Urzad Komunikacji Elektronicznej, UKE) have both
on a wholesale basis. Marek Zagorski said that there criticized proposed changes to regulations which could
Poland are several arguments which support this approach. slow down the expansion of mobile networks. The
He commented: ‘First of all, there is not much of this
Ministry of Environment (Ministerstwo Srodowiska)
resource. The available block is not very extensive and wants infrastructure such as network towers and
it would be rather impossible to divide it. Assuming base stations to be covered by new environmental
that we have four 5G operators in the frequency range planning laws, meaning operators will have to apply
3.6GHz-3.8GHz, we would have two in the 700MHz for permission before carrying out any work which
band. This would put someone in a privileged position.’ could ‘significantly affect the environment’. Telepolis
He added that some of the 700MHz band must be reports UKE as saying that ‘the ordinance is not
reserved for military purposes, so having a single favorable from the point of view of the development of
commercial 5G network in that band would facilitate telecommunications services and may have negative
the distribution of spectrum. He went on to give lower effects’. The MC, meanwhile, commented: ‘The
infrastructure costs and quicker deployment times as Ministry of Digitization believes that one should strive
further advantages of a single network, with no need to eliminate all administrative and legal regulations
for operators to duplicate their rollouts: ‘When we that may affect the development of the country in the
integrate it, we will do it faster and cheaper,’ he stated. area of telecommunications, if these regulations are
Poland’s 700MHz spectrum is still being used for TV not justified by the protection of citizens’ interests in
broadcasts, so the minister says that 2022-2023 is a other areas of functioning.’ Critics are worried that the
realistic date for the beginning of 5G network rollouts measures would increase red tape and slow down the
in this band. He says that 3.6GHz-3.8GHz frequencies development of new 5G networks and the expansion of
will be made available sooner which will allow cellcos existing 4G systems. (September 19, 2019) Telepolis
to get off the ground with 5G technology before
then. In February this year state-backed telecoms Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has signed
network operator Exatel said it would seek a role in the new Act on Supporting the Development of
the deployment of a single open-access 5G network. Telecommunications Networks and Services, also
(September 25, 2019) PAP News Agency known as the Mega Act (Megaustawa). The Act was

157 SEPTEMBER 2019