And wasnt Jimmy invited here by the president of the Philippines? Friday 5th June 1998
Philippines Upheavel Leaves Minister Unmoved
By Nick Ingelbrecht and Audrey Mandela
"Call me a telecoms institution, but I am not a memorial," sighs Josefina Lichauco, Philippines secretary for transportation and communications. "If you are a memorial, it means you are 10 feet under the ground." Lichauco was commenting on one of the less successful compliments paid to her in meetings as head of the Philippines APEC telecoms delegation in Singapore this week.
The attempted flattery was a comment on Lichauco's longevity at the top of the tree of Philippines telecoms policy making - as undersecretary, she survived nine first secretaries and four presidents, before being promoted to the top job in January this year.
Following last month's national elections, Lichauco is now preparing to step down to her career position as undersecretary, to make way for the new presidential appointee, Vincente Rivera Jnr, on 1 July.
The new appointment is likely to be accompanied by changes at the industry regulator, the National Telecoms Commission (NTC). Fidelo Dumlao, who took over from Simeon Kintanar as telecoms commissioner last year, is also rumored in Manila to be replaced in the next few weeks, although his successor has yet to be named.
The government's administrative shake-up is, ironically, reflected in the country's telecoms industry itself, which is embroiled in a grueling process of consolidation that many believe will reduce the dozen franchised fixed-line carriers to possibly three "full service" operators within a year or two. Under the government's recent policy to get tough on telecoms companies that fail to meet line rollout targets, consolidation has already begun, forcing changes in the alliances between local and international operators in the country.
"You have to remarry in order to survive," said Lichauco. The old service area scheme, set up to jolt the country's moribund telecoms sector into faster growth, and which originally provided exclusivity to franchised operators, had now effectively lapsed. "The scheme is not in place any more," she said.
Manila-based Bayan Telecommunications Inc. (Bayantel), backed by Nynex, now part of New York-based Bell Atlantic Corp., is tipped to merge its operations with Isla Communications Co. (Islacom), also of Manila, while Smart Communications Inc., of Makati City, last month made a second unsuccessful attempt to buy control of Eastern Telecommunications Philippines Inc., of Manila.
One obstacle to consolidation, notwithstanding the region's economic problems, is the 40% equity ceiling on foreign investment in Philippine telecoms companies. Lichauco believes the new government is unlikely to increase the investment limit any time soon. Such a change would require a constitutional amendment supported by three quarters of the country's disputatious parliamentarians, and the new president, Joseph Estrada, a former movie actor, has a reputation as a nationalist and is the country's only leader in history to give his inaugural address in Tagalog, rather than the traditional English.
If nothing else, consolidation will ease the interconnection problems that have dogged the rollout of competitive services in the Philippines and which recently led Dumlao to declare an industry-wide blitz on the issue, starting with the dispute between Eastern Telecom and dominant operator Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., both of Manila.
Lichauco warns against hopes of an early solution to the problem, however. "It is not realistic to think it is all up to the regulatory bodies." She said the government has yet to enforce a requirement that operators install one rural line for every 10 in metropolitan areas. "The number one issue is universal access," she said.
Other issues demanding urgent government action include the long-delayed PCS auctions, which were frozen by a moratorium in the run up to last month's elections. Lichauco predicted the preparations for the auction will begin in the next few weeks, with licenses awarded by the end of September.
Some 24 bidders have declared their interest in the PCS spectrum, not least the country's biggest mobile operator, Smart Communications, which wants to begin migrating its 700,000 analog subscribers to digital services.
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c Total Telecom 1998. All Rights Reserved. info@totaltele.com
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