MANILA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Monday the official entry of Mislatel Consortium as the new major telecommunications player in the Philippines.
"Today, I am glad to announce the entry of a new player that will take on the challenge of competing against the existing players in our country's telco industry. This new player is the Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company or Mislatel Consortium," Duterte said in a speech during the awarding of the consortium certificate to the group.
Mislatel Consortium is a group formed by China Telecommunications Corp., Udenna Corp. and Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp.
More than a year ago, Duterte directed government agencies to commence the selection and assignment of a radio frequency for a new telco player to solve the country's Internet woes.
"Today, we mark another milestone in the continuing advancement of our country's information and communications technology capability with the entry of a new major telecommunications provider," Duterte said.
Duterte posed the challenge to Mislatel Consortium, "Break the prevailing duopoly in the telecommunications industry and fulfill your commitment to provide better telco services to our people."
Duterte was apparently referring to the Philippines' industry giants PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. Both PLDT and Globe Telecom have about 103 million subscribers in the Philippines, dominating the industry for decades.
Duterte encouraged Filipinos to take advantage of the many opportunities arising from a more vibrant telecommunications industry by engaging in productive information and communications technology (ICT)-based undertakings.
"Let us take the entry of this (new) telco player as a breath of fresh air in our rapidly evolving information age, where no one should be left behind in our pursuit of an inclusive and sustainable progress for all Filipinos," Duterte added.
