THE PLDT Group reiterated its support for government programs aimed at improving the ease of doing business, saying that joint public-private efforts would facilitate telecom infrastructure development nationwide.
“PLDT and Smart continue to support the great strides accomplished by the ARTA (Anti-Red Tape Authority) and this administration in reducing the time, cost, requirements, and procedures of transacting with the government,” said Pamela Felizarta, head of joint strategic operations at Smart.
“Working together, we were able to craft important policies and an executive issuance, paving the way for the faster rollout of telco infrastructure across the nation,” she added.
Felizarta cited joint memorandum circulars and Executive Order 32 issued last year by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which streamlined the permitting process for the construction, installation, repair, operation, and maintenance of telecommunications and internet infrastructure in the country.
PLDT and Smart said that they have been working closely with the ARTA, government agencies such as the Department of Information and Communications Technology, National Telecommunications Commission, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, local government units, and other industry stakeholders to streamline the process of securing permits.
Efforts particularly led to the issuance of guidelines regarding the supply of power to telecommunications towers within the franchises of electric cooperatives, the firms noted.
PLDT is spending P75 billion to P78 billion in capital expenditures this year to expand its network nationwide.
The PLDT Group said that its fiber footprint was the most extensive in the Philippines, with the number of homes that can be linked to the network at almost 18 million in 70 percent and 91 percent, respectively, of the country’s towns and provinces.
Smart’s combined 5G/4G network, meanwhile, was said to cover around 97 percent of the country’s population.
PLDT Inc. shares fell by P16, or 1.02 percent, to P1,546 each on Monday.
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