DICT's Honasan debunks NOW Telecom's 4th telco player claim

The chief of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) clarified that NOW Telecom is not yet the Philippines' fourth telco player.

File photo: DICT logo

NOW Telecom "not yet" considered as 4th telco player

DICT Secretary Gregorio Honasan 2nd debunked on October 6 NOW Telecom's claim that it was the fourth telco that would challenge the dominance of PLDT and Globe Telecom, including DITO Telecommunity.

Yung NOW po, hindi po. From where we see it, after further inquiry hindi pa po ‘yun fourth telco, the official said during a Senate hearing.

While there are about 40 telcos in the country, these are small players. The country only has three major players, Honasan stressed. 

NOW Telecom in September claimed it was the fourth telco as it secured an extension of its provisional authority to install, operate, and maintain a nationwide mobile telecommunication system. 

Last February 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte granted the company with a 25-year extension or until 2043 in the market strengthened by the Republic Act No. 10972.

In late September 2020, PTV reported that NOW Telecom Company Inc. has been approved as the country's fourth major telco player to compete with PLDT, Globe, and 3rd telco DITO.

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

Source: Inquirer.net