PLDT eyeing more provincial telcos

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the country’s biggest telecommunications provider, is keen on acquiring more provincial telecommunication services providers in the country after taking control of Mindanao’s fixed-line market last week, its top official said.

PLDT chair Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters that discussions with operators were “fluid,” adding that the company was scouting for deals “anywhere in major towns and cities.”

“We are always looking for opportunities in the provinces for our fixed line,” Pangilinan told reporters at the sidelines of the IdeaSpace 2015 startup competition awards recently. He cited previous acquisitions Maranao Telephone, Philippine Global Communications and Subic Telecom.

“So to the extent that there are available franchises in the province where we can improve the services, then we would be open,” he said.

The strategy comes as PLDT last week acquired Metro Kidapawan Telephone Corp., or Metro Phone, in deal that gave it 75 percent of Mindanao’s fixed line business.

Metro Phone is currently serving subscribers in Kidapawan City as well as three other municipalities in the Province of North Cotabato.

Moreover, Mindanao has been luring increasing interest from the private sector ahead of the passage of a bill creating a new Bangsamoro region—a move that paves the way for added development in the area.

Soccsksargen which is also known as Region XII stands for South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City.

PLDT spent more than P34.8 billion in 2014 as it expanded its fiber network to nearly 100,000 kilometers, making it the most extensive network in the country.

It is planning to spend another P39 billion in 2015, mainly to bolster its data services. Miguel Camus