MANILA – The legal counsel of the Mindanao Islamatic Telephone Company, Inc. (Mislatel), which is part of the consortium that was declared as the new major telecommunications player, assured the public that any data or information that will enter the Philippines would be protected.
“Kami sa Mislatel mismo ay di kami papayag na ito’y isang serbisyo at magagamit siya hindi sa pagbigay serbisyo kung hindi sa pambansang interes ng isang dayuhang bansa. I do not think so,” said Atty. John Coluso in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.
“Actually ‘yang bagay na ‘yan po, just like any other company, especially sa isang industriya na mayroong government regulator po… NTC (National Telecommunications Commission), DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), even Malacañang may tinatawag na security committee eh lahat naman po ‘yan,” he added.
Aside from Mislatel, the consortium is composed of Davao businessman Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corporation and Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. and foreign partner China Telecommunications Corp.
The NTC earlier this month officially declared Mislatel as the country’s new major player that would compete with major telecommunications players Globe Telecom and PLDT Inc.
Coluso reiterated that the consortium has committed to reach 84 percent nationwide mobile coverage by 2023, and spend P256 billion in capital and operating expenses in five years.
It also promised faster internet speed compared to what consumers are presently availing from the services provided by existing telecommunications companies.
“Limang taon po na commitment so hindi naman po siya nag-promise ng 10 years, five years lang po ang pinag-uusapan. Number two, ‘yun hong total investment is P150 billion for the first year and P27 billion every year,” Coluso said.
“Now ang internet speed po sa unang tatlong taon o dalawang taon ay 27 mbps po yata na magiging 55 mbps. ‘Yung 55 mbps at par na po siya sa ibang bansa gaya ng sa Singapore,” he added.
Other aspirants Sear Telecom and the Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (PT&T) were both disqualified as they had lacked the necessary requirements during the bidding process. (GMA News/PN)
