ANGELES CITY- Sen. Paulo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV said telecommunications companies (telcos) have blamed fees and other financial impositions at local government levels for their failure to immediately install more cell sites to boost their service capabilities.
Aquino, who was guest of the Capampangans in Media Inc. (CAMI) at the Holy Angel University here recently, said the Senate is set to invite the League of Municipalities of the Philippines and the League of City Mayors of the Philippines to shed light on this issue.
Aquino, who is a member of the Senate Committee on Communications and Mass Media, said telcos have noted the various fees being imposed in the provinces, from municipal down to the barangay levels, that prevent them from fully upgrading their facilities to upgrade communications signals for their clients.
“The telcos are saying they want to establish more cell sites but they are hampered by fees and different rules being imposed at local levels,” he said. Aquino said local government units should be convinced to adopt reasonable and uniform rates on fees on telcos nationwide. Otherwise, uniform fees could be legislated, he added.
This, as Aquino also lamented low internet speed in the country, amid a study indicating that the Philippines has among the lowest speed among Southeast Asian countries. “Increasing internet speed has corollary effect on the GDP (general domestic product), because an internet economy doesn’t have to pay for a space so sell products,” he noted.
Aquino lauded the call of the Department of Justice for telcos to be more truthful in advertising their internet service offers, as he noted that while unlimited internet is being offered, the speed goes down significantly after subscribers have consumed a certain volume of megabytes.
This, even as Aquino urged government intervention in providing internet signals in rural areas which telcos consider unprofitable. He said the Department of Science and Technology is already experimenting on this, using frequency of Channel 3 in Bohol and an equipment that costs less than $1,000 but covers a radius of 10 kilometers.
