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China Telecom has been confirmed as the long anticipated international partner for the formation of the country’s third telco
The government of the Philippines has officially confirmed that its long awaited third telco will be headed up by China Telecom and a consortium of Filipino business partners.
Mislatel, as the telco will be known, will be comprised of representatives from China Telecom, The Mindinao Islamic Telephone Company, Udenna Corporation and Chelsea Logistics Holdings.
Last week, a Filipino court disposed of formal objections to the formation of Mislatel by a number of parties, paving the way for the new telco to be unveiled this week.
Filipino President, Rodrigo Duterte, has long said that the country needed a third telco to breathe life into its stagnant telecoms sector, formerly presided over by Smart and Globe.
Mislatel has already committed to provide 37.03 per cent of the country’s population with an average speed of 27Mbps during the first year of its operation. By the end of its five year plan, Mislatel plans to provide download speeds of at least 55Mbps to 84.01 per cent of the Philippine’s 105 million people.
Should Mislatel fail to deliver on these ambitious targets, the company will forfeit a $266 million (14 billion Philippine Peso) performance bond, which it was obliged to pay to the Filipino government upon its formation.
The creation of Mislatel will bring to an end a year-long saga, which saw the southeast Asian nation struggle to attract the international investors required to launch a third telco in the country. President Duterte had originally set a time limit of Q1 2018 for the new telco to be operational, but a reluctance by China Telecom to take up the offer to participate in the country’s telecoms sector significantly delayed proceedings.
Also in the news:
New Filipino telco faces uphill battle on 5G before it is even formed
China Telecom officially declares interest in The Philippines
