{"id":44757,"date":"2021-08-03T16:46:44","date_gmt":"2021-08-03T08:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=44757"},"modified":"2021-08-03T16:46:48","modified_gmt":"2021-08-03T08:46:48","slug":"pldt-smart-back-govt-pursuit-of-fair-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2021\/08\/03\/pldt-smart-back-govt-pursuit-of-fair-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"PLDT, Smart back gov&#8217;t pursuit of fair competition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>PLDT and its wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) have expressed their support for government initiatives to ensure fair competition in the industry, adding that these boost PLDT and Smart&#8217;s efforts to improve customer experience.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We stand with our government, and grateful for these undertakings, as we work towards providing world-class connectivity for all Filipinos,&#8221; said Alfredo S. Panlilio, PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications President and CEO. &#8220;Together, we will continue to support our increasingly connected societies, especially in the new normal.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the government fast-tracked approvals for telco firms last year, PLDT and Smart have secured more than 25,000 fixed and wireless permits as of July 27, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These initiatives include the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA)&#8217;s issuance of the Joint Memorandum Circular fast-tracking the issuance of permits and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)&#8217;s recently issued Department Order No. 29 (DO 29), which allows telecommunications companies to occupy a portion of the government Right of Way (ROW), subject to prescribed conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) also recently announced that it has formed a task force to investigate cases and complaints involving exclusive partnerships between condominiums, subdivisions, and other development property owners and internet service providers (ISP) for &#8220;abuse of dominance.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Entering exclusive developments remains a challenge, but we are committed to expand the coverage of our networks to serve as many Filipinos across the country. We commend the PCC and pledge our support for this initiative,&#8221; said Atty Aileen Regio, First Vice President and Head of PLDT\u2019s Regulatory and Strategic Affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">PLDT and Smart\u2019s relentless push to provide connectivity for all is aligned with the group\u2019s long-standing commitment to help the Philippines attain the UN\u2019s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG #9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since the government fast-tracked approvals for telco firms last year, PLDT and Smart have secured more than 25,000 fixed and wireless permits as of July 27, 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":44692,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[379,343],"class_list":["post-44757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","tag-pldt","tag-smart-communications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}