PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte only had to ask few questions to get answers he needed to get back at PLDT’s demand for a P3-billion refund as hinted at by PLDT’s Manny Pangilinan alleging that they pour billions of pesos using the Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprises (CURE) frequency.
Duterte got answers to his questions so vital he knew he is standing on solid ground to counter with “I will have BIR look into your books”.
Duterte must be smirking with a laugh when he was informed by Secretary Rio that PLDT is surrendering CURE’s frequency absolutely for free. Did I hear the President murmuring, “Never ever try me. Never ever do your shenanigans during my term. I owe you nothing.”
I did my own sleuthing about how frequencies were allocated and how this ended and landed later in the lap of the duopoly. Here’s a short story: PLDT acquired Digitel with its Mobile network that have frequency grants in the 900 MHz for 2G , 1100 MHz for 3G , 2300 mhz and 2500 for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA).
My industry sources said that NTC approved the sale of Digitel to PLDT on condition that PLDT will surrender or return to the Commission the frequency band assigned to CURE since PLDT/Smart has automatically acquired all the frequencies assigned to Digitel in 900 , 1100 , 2300 and 2500 MHz bands. Globe had objected to the automatic transfer of the frequencies to PLDT/Smart before but was overuled by NTC.
Fast forward, PLDT in returning the allocated frequency of Cure back to NTC threw a curve by insisting that the Government reimburse them for P3-billion alleging that they have made major Investments using the CURE frequency. This is s lot of nonsense or in the language of Duterte - a lot of bull shit!
My guess is that some telecom savvy advisers to the President must have whispered to his ears that the radio equipment used in 3G are software driven radios (SDR ) and could easily be retrofitted at a very minimal expense or re-programmed to the other 1100 mhzfrquencies that PLDT / Smart had and those that it acquired from Digitel .
To have sufficient frequency bands and to level playing field versus the duopoly , the 3rd Player must likewise need a sufficient allocation in the 700 mhz or better in the 600 MHz band that the government opened to TVBroadcasters who are compelled to transition to High Definition TV (HDTV). These broadcasters will only be occupying a portion of the 600 Hz band and the rest of the band can be given to the 3rd player that will definitely leap frog to 5G.
I don’t buy that crap about the sudden benevolence of PLDT/Smart in returning CURE frequency. In the first place that asset should have been surrendered to the government without pre-conditions . That cannot be a subject of speculation akin to real estate appreciation of value.