The fourth major telecommunications player has not been identified: NTC

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has not identified a “fourth” major telecommunications player, an official said Monday.

“In terms of market capitalization, there are three main players such as the PLDT group, the Globe group and DITO. There are other players, namely: Converge, InfiniVAN, NOW Telecom and many others. This list is not in any hierarchy, ”NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo V. Cabarios told BusinessWorld in a phone message Monday, when asked to comment on NOW Corp.’s claim that its affiliate, NOW Telecom Co. , Inc., is the fourth largest telecommunications player in the country.

Cabarios added that there are four entities that have been authorized to operate mobile networks: PLDT group, Globe group, DITO and NOW Telecom.

In an emailed statement to reporters over the weekend, NOW Telecom said the NTC had “extended” its provisional authority to install, operate and maintain a mobile telecommunications system nationwide.

“As the fourth largest telecommunications company in the country, NOW Telecom, a subsidiary of the publicly traded telecommunications, media and technology firm NOW Corp., is setting the stage for its public listing, as well as its implementation of a 5G network or fifth generation ”, he added.

But observer and industry expert Eliseo M. Rio, Jr., former undersecretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), said he is not aware of any pronouncement from NTC or DICT declaring NOW the fourth company telecommunications.

“They have been saying that… to boost their actions. Today, their shares skyrocketed dramatically, ”he said in a phone message.

NOW Corp. shares closed 49.79% higher at P3.58 each Monday.

NOW Corp. announced last year its affiliate’s collaboration with a Singapore-based company for a nationwide rollout of fiber, which was further boosting its ambition to become the fourth largest telecommunications player.

NOW was one of the candidates in the search for the third telecommunications service provider in the country. The space was awarded to Dito Telecommunity Corp., which is owned by Udenna Corp. of Dennis A. Uy and Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp., and China Telecommunications Corp. – Arjay L. Balinbin