The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) granted several Filipino and Chinese companies provisional certificates of registration to build common telecommunications towers in the country.
DICT issued certificates to 23 firms that have secured deals with the department. This would allow the companies to own, build, or operate cell towers in the Philippines.
The companies include:
- Aboitiz Infracapital Inc.
- Acoda Towers Sdn Bhd
- Alt-Global-Solutions Inc.
- Transcend Towers Infrastructure (Philippines) Inc.
- China Construction First Group Corp. and Wingan Construction and Development Corp.
- China Construction Yangtze River (M) Sdn Bhd
- China Energy Equipment Co. Ltd
- CREI Management Services FZE
- Desarrollos Terrestres Inc.
- EEI Corp.
- Frontier Tower Associates Philippines Inc.
- IHS Holding Ltd.
- Inforient Sdn. Bhd
- Isoc Edotco Towers Inc.
- Ison Tower Ltd. Inc.
- J.S Cruz Construction and Development Inc.
- MGS Construction Inc.
- Phil-Tower Consortium Inc.
- RT Telecom Sdn Bhd
- Shinheung Telecom Co. Ltd.
- Tamoin Industrial Services Corp.
- Tiger Infrastructure Pte. Ltd. and
- UA Withya Public Co. Ltd.
Also read: AFP discussing where to place DITO telco towers
PH, Chinese companies get DICT certificates to build cell towers
“We need these tower companies to continue mobilizing and building towers now. That’s why we granted them this provisional certificate to ease their transition under the new circular,” former senator and now-Information Secretary Gregorio Honasan 2nd said in the statement.
“We have to be diligent to ensure capacity of certified ITCs (independent tower companies), and we need to balance diligence with the urgency to improve our current ICT (information and communications technology) infrastructure,” he added.
Major telco players PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. have also secured deals with tower companies to install more cell sites nationwide.
Meanwhile, DICT assured the public that it would continue to evaluate the soon-to-be installed cell sites by China-backed Dito Telecommunity inside Philippine military camps.
“Continuous po ito (This is continuous). This is not a one-time performance audit or security assessment,” said Honasan.
“By law, your department is required to submit periodic reports to Congress about the status of our cybersecurity efforts,” he added.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier said he had approved the 2019 Memorandum of Agreement between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and DITO Telecommunity.