PLDT-NoypiGeeks-1176

After the government’s common tower policy, telco giant PLDT Inc. is disposing 50% of its tower assets — that’s about 6000 towers as they have 11,000 to 12,000 of them.

In a press conference, PLDT head Manuel V Pangilinan said that they have already received bids for the said towers that have a total amount of more than Php50 billion.

As per Alfredo Panlilio, PLDT president, they already narrowed down the 19 initial bids it received to 6. Panlilio said that the bidders are common tower players from across the globe and said to be “strong well-funded entities”.

By the end, PLDT will choose two companies that will each get contract packages of about 3,000 towers each. The telco expects to award the contract to the two bidders “some time in the second quarter,” says Annabelle Chua, PLDT’s chief financial officer.

Once awarded, PLDT and the chosen companies will enter into a transition period that will be complete within the year.

PLDT noted that they will only sell the physical tower structures and passive equipment, not the main radio gear.

The telco will then use the proceeds to pay up its debt.

Back in 2021, MVP already announced that they are considering selling its tower assets.

If you remember, the government came up with the common tower policy to help speed up the improvement of internet services in the Philippines. With the policy, telco companies will only have to lease cell towers instead of building them on their own, which will drop the maintenance cost that will then translate to cheaper prices for the consumers.

Via: GMA News

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