Philippines
3.4 Philippines Telecommunications
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The Philippines has an advanced mobile market when compared to other similar countries. 

The Philippine Long-Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and Globe Telecom are the two major telecommunication carriers in the country. The current Philippine cellular infrastructure is Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). 4G service was made available in 2010, access to 4G services are above 70% for both all over the country with more than 80% in the main town. SMART (PLDT) and Globe launched long-term evolution (LTE) networks in 2012. PLDT has an existing digital fibre optic, and a digital microwave radio system connecting the entire country. Globe Telecom has fibre optic cables and was the first to offer Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax). The bulk of the fixed services are in urban areas. In contrast, the fixed line market in the Philippines remains underdeveloped and fixed line penetration continues to show stagnant growth. A major reason for this is due to the dominance of the mobile segment and the rapid expansion of the mobile broadband segment. PLDT has continued to be the Philippines’ dominant fixed-line provider. However, in recent years, Globe Telecom has been pushing hard to overhaul the incumbent and now is the leading mobile provider in term of overall subscribers.  

It’s very easy buying a mobile number in the Philippines, you can choose between prepaid and post-pay contracts. The main mobile service providers in the country are Smart and Globe and you can get information on rates, contract types, fees and offers by visiting operator’s websites. You need unlocked mobile phones to use it in the Philippines. 

Prepaid sim cards are very cheap and available all across the country as well as prepaid “loads” that you can find at every street corner Data plans or combo Data + free calls + free texts etc. are also available. These Sim cards are already 4G-enabled.  

Post-paid with free calls and free texts for members of the same fleet are also available, billed at the end of the month as usual. 

To apply for a mobile post-paid account in the Philippines you can fill the application form in mobile phone centres and you will have to provide followings documents: 

  • Proof of identification (valid internationally-issued passport or unexpired Alien Certificate of Registration) 
  • Proof of address (electric or other bill, bank statement, lease of contract, or notarized lessor’s certificate) 
  • Proof of financial capacity (bank account documents, certificate of employment, latest income tax return or credit card statement of account) 

SMART is also a Thuraya provider (from phone to reload cards). 

Telephone Services 

Is there an existing landline telephone network? 

Yes 

Does it allow international calls? 

Yes 

Number and Length of Downtime Periods (on average) 

4 times a year, 2 days length of downtime 

Mobile Phone Providers  

Globe Telecom 

  • Globe Telecom 
  • TM (Touch Mobile) brand of Globe 
  • ABS-CBN Mobile – Use Globe Network through network-sharing agreement. 

PLDT 

  • SMART 
  • TNT – Low cost 
  • Sun Cellular – Brand of PLDT 

Approximate Percentage of National Coverage 

70% to 80% 

Telecommunications Regulations 

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is an attached agency of the Department of Information and Communications Technology responsible for the supervision, adjudication and control over all telecommunications services throughout the country. All the necessary forms for registration or permits are available on line on the website of the NTC at the following address: http://ncr.ntc.gov.ph/

Attachment - Telecommunications Licensing Procedures

Regulations on Usage and Import 

 

Regulations in Place? 

Regulating Authority 

Satellite 

Yes  

NTC 

HF Radio 

Yes 

NTC 

UHF/VHF/HF Radio: Handheld, Base and Mobile 

Yes 

NTC 

UHF/VHF Repeaters 

Yes 

NTC 

GPS 

No 

n/a 

VSAT 

Yes 

NTC 

Individual Network Operator Licenses Required  

Yes, can acquire it from NTC. 

Frequency Licenses Required 

Yes 

 

Radio Materials Registration Fees (NTC) 

 

Price / UNIT  

As Of 

SIMPLEX 

Portable 

1000 PhP 

March 2019 

Mobile 

1300 PhP 

March 2019 

Base 

2100 PhP 

March 2019 

DUPLEX 

Portable 

1100 PhP 

March 2019 

Mobile 

1700 PhP 

March 2019 

Base 

3200 PhP 

March 2019 

REPEATER 

 

3000 PhP 

March 2019 

Existing Humanitarian Telecoms Systems 

There is an existing humanitarian telecoms system in place in some areas of operation and is currently managed by UNDSS.   

 

UNDSS 

WFP 

VHF Frequencies 

YES 

 

HF Frequencies 

YES 

 

Locations of Repeaters  

Manila, Davao, Cotabato, North Upi 

 

VSAT 

YES 

YES 

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 

There are currently two major service providers, the PLDT and Globe Telecom. There are also other ISPs that are available namely: Sky Broadband, Converge ICT, Eastern Communications, RISE, Radius and InfiniVan.All ISPs offers DSL and Fiber Internet connections. If you are out of coverage with these providers, Satellite Internet Service provider are also available such as, WIT Phillippines Inc., Kontack One, AZ Communication Networks and IP Star. 

Internet Service Providers 

Are there ISPs available? 

Yes  

If yes, are they privately or government owned? 

Privately 

Dial-up only? 

No 

Approximate Rates (local currency and USD - $) 

Dial-up 

n/a 

Broadband 

Depends on subscription 

(Fiber, DSL or Wifi / 5Mbps to 250Mbps) 

1299 PhP up to 6299 PhP –  

20 USD up to 100 USD 

Max Leasable ‘Dedicated’ Bandwidth 

250Mbps (Fiber) 

Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) 

Currently, there are 2 Mobile Network Operators in the Philippines, Globe and PLDT, note that PLDT has 3 mobile brands Smart Communications, Sun Cellular, and TalkNText (TNT)Both MNOs offer Merchant Payment, Money transfer and Payment services. 

For information on MNOs please visit the GSM Association website 

Company 

Number of Agent Outlets by Area 

Network Strength by Area 

Contracted for Humanitarian or GovernmenCash Transfer Programmes? 

Services Offered (i.e. Merchant Payment, Bulk Disbursement, Receive & Make Payment) 

GLOBE 

8-10 per Municipality  

Depends on the Location 

Yes 

Merchant Payment, Money Transfer, Receive & Make Payment 

SMART 

8-10 per Municipality 

Depends on the Location 

Yes 

Merchant Payment, Money Transfer, Receive & Make Payment 

 

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