NOW receives license from the government as PH's fourth major telco

Manila Standard earlier reported that NOW Telecom Company Inc. secured a permit from the government as the country's fourth major telco player to compete PLDT, Globe, and 3rd telco DITO.

NOW LTE

NOW is the fourth major telco in the Philippines!

The report shared that the National Telecommunications Commission on September 14 issued a provisional authority to NOW to install, operate, and maintain a nationwide mobile telecommunication system including 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond.

The provisional authority comes with a number of conditions like the infusion of additional capital of at least PHP 1.9 billion from the first two years, capital expenditure of PHP 6.3 billion in the submitted rollout plan, and approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the increase in authorized and paid-up capital.

NOW is also required to accelerate the installation of broadband data service in the suburban and rural areas wiht a 70:30 ratio for suburban and rural networks, respectively.

NTC's order also prohibits the company from sharing or co-using its frequency to other companies without first securing approval from the commission.

To recall, President Duterte signed Republic Act No. 10972 on Feb. 22, 2018, which renewed NOW Telecom’s legislative franchise for another 25 years to engage in the business of providing telecommunications including electronic communications and electronic communications services throughout the Philippines and between the Philippines and other countries and other territories, including outer space.

Following its introduction of 5G broadband with speeds of up to 2 Gbps to its existing enterprise clients, NOW Group of Companies founder and chief executive Mel Velarde said that its next move is to extend the said service to residential and consumer markets.

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Update: PSE penalizes NOW Corporation over misleading "4th telco player" claim

Source: Manila Standard, PTV