Duterte threatens to shut down PLDT, Globe over poor telco services

President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to shut down telcos PLDT and Globe Telecom if they fail to improve their services by end-2020. 

PLDT, Globe urged to boost services or face shutdown

Duterte: PLDT, Globe must improve services by December 

During his State of the Nation Address on Monday, Duterte said the dominant carriers must boost their telco services by December or he "will do anything" to shut them down, suffering the same fate of broadcasting network ABS-CBN. 

If you are not ready to improve, I might just as well close all of you and we revert back to the line telephone, Duterte said. 

He stressed he still has two years to serve the country, and those remaining years would be spent to boost the local telecommunications sector. 

The patience of the Filipino people is reaching its limit. I will be the one to articulate the anger of the Filipino people. You might not want what I intend to do, Duterte warned.

In a statement, Ayala-led Globe argued that while it has been shelling out multi-billion dollar investments for its network buildup, "challenges remain", citing the issue on red tape. 

Globe said that this year alone the group has earmarked USD 1.2 billion capital expenditures to finance its network and capacity buildups. 

It also boasted that it was leading the Fifth Generation race in the Philippines with the launch of its 5G for Globe At Home in 2019. Globe also claimed it was even making noises in the international scene for having improved internet experience. 

Although we have seen marked improvements, the industry is not without its challenges. The long drawn permitting process across LGUs, HOAs and national agencies including the DOH and CAAP have hampered cellsite builds and laying down of fiber to homes, Globe said. 

However, it remained bullish the Philippine telco industry could witness a sigh of relief as the Department of Information and Communications Technology seeks to bank on the Ease of Doing Business Act to cut permitting process. 

PLDT, on the other hand, has not issued any statement yet on Duterte's threat.