Proudly Filipino

True to its long history of breaking the stronghold of bigger and more entrenched players in the industry, the Solid Group is adding another first in its history as its MyPhone brand of mobile phones joins the likes of Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and LG as among the best selling phones in the Philippines today.

While Nokia is still undisputably the biggest cellular phone brand in the country, sources say that LG and MyPhone are already neck-to-neck in the battle for fourth or fifth spot in terms of market share.

This is big news and something we Filipinos should be proud of because finally, our countrymen are now proud to own a mobile phone with a Filipino brand and because a Philippine company has managed to join the big league in the mobile phone sector that used to be dominated by foreign brands.

Sources add that the people behind Solid Group are confident that by next year, they will have a 20 percent share of the local market.

When the Solid Group decided to produce and sell dual SIM phones carrying a local brand (MyPhone) in the Philippines, there were some who thought the idea crazy. But who is laughing his way to the bank now? Mobile phone service providers Globe Telecom and Sun Cellular could no longer afford to ignore the MyPhone brand because of the huge demand for it so they have decided to carry the brand. We’ve heard that Smart Communications is following suit very soon.

But while MyPhone has been gaining huge success in the local market, the same cannot be said for Motorola which we’ve heard may soon close down its Philippine office. This means that Motorola phones will have to be imported by local distributors, if they want to.

3G dispute

The National Telecommunications Commission is facing a tough battle in its bid to have the last remaining 3G mobile license allocated.

The Court of Appeals has barred the NTC from awarding the fifth 3G frequency and license which means that the draft memorandum circular of the commission which sets the guidelines for the granting of the frequency will have to be set aside in the meantime. The NTC was scheduled to conduct the next public hearing on the proposed MC on Jan. 18.

We’ve learned that the CA has given the NTC 10 days from Dec. 18 to file its comment. And according to the NTC, they will definitely oppose the temporary restraining order issued by the appellate court.

The TRO enjoins the NTC, its agents or anybody acting in its behalf, from resolving any application for and/or from awarding the one remaining 3G frequency bandwidth allowable for assignment to any applicant therefore or from executing or implementing any writ of execution, order, or resolution for the enforcement of such award, if any.

The CA issued the TRP in connection with a suit filed by Bayantel against the NTC for denying the company’s application for 3G bandwidth based on a “questionable” points-scoring system for ranking applicants.

In its draft MC, the NTC said it will allocate or bid out the last remaining 3G frequency depending on the number of applicants. If there is more than one applicant, then a bidding will be conducted.

It’s been more than two years since the NTC awarded the other 3G frequencies to Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, Digitel Mobile, and CURE (a company later purchased by Smart). There were nine applicants at that time, including Bayantel, but only four qualified based on the guidelines set by the NTC.

As planned, the qualified bidders shall bid for the annual spectrum user fees (SUF). The minimum bid price shall be P65 million for the paired 10MHz. A bid security bond equivalent to 30 percent of the minimum bid price of P65 million shall be submitted together with the financial bid.

Meanwhile, the grantee of the last remaining 3G frequency band shall post a performance bond equivalent to P300 million not later than 10 days after the grant of the frequencies. The performance bond shall be forfeited in favor of the government if grantee fails to comply with the approved roll-out schedule. 

Being the last 3G frequency and license available, we can understand the controversy surrounding its planned award. There should probably be more transparency on the part of the NTC in case the awarding of this frequency is finally allowed. After all, a frequency is a public resource and the public deserves to know why a particular company should get it.

For comments, e-mail at [email protected]