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The military said in a statement it had signed
a preliminary agreement with Mislatel, a consortium controlled
by Philippine tycoon Dennis Uy, to install communications
facilities and towers at its camps and installations.
Uy, a close associate of President Rodrigo Duterte, was awarded
the country's third telecoms license last year, helped by the
last-minute withdrawal or disqualification of other bidders.
His two holding companies, which have no prior experience in
telecommunications, have partnered with China Telecom, which
currently owns a 40% stake, the maximum permitted under an
archaic Philippines law that the government has promised to
amend to support foreign investment.
The agreement comes despite calls for deeper scrutiny from some
Philippine lawmakers concerned that state-controlled China
Telecom could be a "Trojan horse https://reut.rs/2NXdg9g" with
the capability to access state secrets.
It comes at a time of heightened cyber security fears
surrounding Chinese national icon Huawei Technologies, the
world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, which has
been placed on a U.S. trade blacklist since May.
Washington has been urging its allies, Manila included, not to
use Huawei gear, which the Beijing government could use for
espionage, an allegation Huawei has denied.
In a statement, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said
Mislatel "guarantees that the devices, equipment, and/or
structures installed at the site provided by the AFP shall not
be used to obtain classified information" as a measure to
prevent electronic espionage.
It noted that the AFP had a similar arrangement with the other
two domestic mobile firms, Globe Telecom and rival PLDT.
The move aims to free-up state land to construct towers to try
to address a shortfall that has for years resulted in
intermittent signals, patchy coverage and dropped calls, with
the country's two networks inundated with traffic among the
country's 107 million population. Globe and PLDT blame excessive
permit requirements for slowing their network expansion.
Once operational, the new player's network will be called Dito,
or "here" in Filipino.
"The roll-out of Dito's towers is indeed one Herculean feat," Uy
said in a statement. "We are nearer our goal of building a wide
and robust network."
(Reporting by Martin Petty; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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