Consumer group urges waiving of lease fees for telco cell sites

MANILA, Philippines – A consumer group is urging Congress to swiftly act on laws that aim to revise the National Building Code of 1977 to help bring down the costs of the internet in the country by removing lease fees for cell sites.

According to Bantay Konsyumer, Kalsada, Kuryente (BK3) secretary-general Pet Climaco, the organization supports amendments to the building code and to elevate the internet to the same rights as utilities like water and electricity.

"Technically, we support the removal of lease fees because leases are added costs for internet service providers (ISPs), as they will only pass the capital expenditures to consumers due to rent costs," Climaco said in a recent interview.

According to the 2024 World Bank report dubbed "Better Internet for All Filipinos: Reforms Promoting Competition and Increasing Investment for Broadband Infrastructure," the Philippines' internet connectivity is the most expensive in the Southeast Asian region but is relatively slow compared to Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.

"We are asking Congress for the quick passage of laws that are related to internet installations and treating them in the same way as water and electricity," Climaco added.

Last year, the House of Representatives approved, on third and final reading, House Bill (HB) No. 8500, or the proposed “New Philippine Building Act," which aims to update the National Building Code. 

Similarly, Tarlac 2nd District Rep. Christian Yap filed HB No. 900, which aims to mandate developers to provide adequate space for broadband infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda also filed HB No. 8534, which also aims to revise the building code and mandate the provision of readiness for buildings and structures for telecommunication technology.

One way to increase internet speed in the Philippines is by adding more cell sites in the country through the removal of lease fees for cell sites, which is supported by several stakeholders in the telecommunications industry.

According to data from the National Telecommunications Commission, the Philippines only has around 23,000 cell sites, while neighboring countries like Vietnam have 90,000 cell towers and Bangladesh has 30,000. The Philippines needs an additional 60,000 cell sites by 2031 in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas, according to data from the Asian Development Bank.

The Private Sector Advisory Council urged Malacanang to increase government spending on developing the country’s digital infrastructure to give a P60 billion annual budget for DICT to increase the number of cell sites and the penetration rate of internet services in the country.

The country recently approved the P16.1 billion World Bank-financed Philippines Digital Infrastructure Project, which is set to construct a public broadband infrastructure network to help increase broadband connectivity in far-flung areas.