PLDT: Digitel deal not anti-competition

On Thursday, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) insisted that its takeover of rival Digitel Telecommunications Philippines Inc. would be beneficial to the local telecommunications industry, and would in better services and more competitive prices for consumers. He also downplayed fears that the PLDT-Digitel merger would hinder competition in the local telecommunications industry. “We will keep Digitel as a separate company. This is not a merger… more importantly, we will maintain the unlimited and bucket-priced services of Sun Cellular," Pangilinan told reporters. He assured that the PLDT group will officially set itself to developing widely accessible, high-speed Internet. “We will make a formal commitment to the government for the benefit of consumers," Pangilinan said. The acquisition of Digitel will help PLDT roll out broadband services to 95 percent of the country “in three years," he said. Currently, just two-thirds of the Philippines has high-speed Internet access. Consumer groups and lawmakers earlier voiced concerns that the PLDT-Digitel merger would allow PLDT to dictate market prices, thereby ending the “price wars" that have helped keep telecommunications services at affordable rates. Globe pushes for gov't probe Earlier this week, Ayala-led Globe Telecom likewise urged the government to look into the deal between its two main competitors. PLDT, after acquiring Digitel, will corner 67 percent of industry revenues. Seven out of 10 mobile users in the Philippines will also be on its network. Globe said that regulators should consider ordering PLDT to relinquish some of its redundant frequencies following its takeover of Digitel’s operations. However, Pangilinan countered that this should only be done in the event of a scarcity of frequencies for new players in the market —which is not the case, he asserts. “Our frequencies are enough for the subscribers we have," he said. Review may be 'warranted' He admitted that a state review may be “warranted" due to the size of the share-swap agreement, which is valued at P74.1 billion. Nevertheless, Pangilinan assured the government that the market would remain competitive. Pangilinan said that Globe itself has remained committed to competing with PLDT-Digitel. San Miguel Corp., despite being a late entrant in the telecoms market, has likewise vowed to be a strong competitor via its subsidiary, Liberty Telecom Holdings Inc. — TJD, GMA News