The telco said it is open to acquire subsidiaries from rival
Philippine operator Globe Telecom said it is open to the possibility of acquiring local conglomerate San Miguel Corporation’s telecom subsidiaries to have access to the 700 MHz spectrum band, local press reported. SMC currently controls the entire 700 MHz band through a number of Internet service providers.
Globe’s CEO Ernest Cu said the operator is looking at SMC’s Wi-Tribe and High Frequency Telecommunications units. Globe and rival group PLDT have unsuccessfully asked telecom regulator NTC to allocate a portion of the 700 MHz spectrum band.
SMC recently attempted to create a joint venture with Australian operator Telstra to launch mobile services in the Philippines. However, negotiations between the two firms were cancelled last month.
According to local press reports, SMC is looking to launch a mobile operations this year using spectrum in the 700 MHz band, initially targeting the metro Manila area. Globe has offered LTE services in the Philippines since October 2012.
The other two mobile operators in the country are Smart Communications and Sun Cellular, both owned by telecommunications group PLDT.
BSNL looks to launch LTE through the 2.5 GHz band
In other APAC news, Indian state-owned operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is preparing to launch commercial LTE services in 14 telecoms circles, the Economic Times reports. The company plans to use 20 megahertz of spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band to offer LTE services. The telco is also upgrading existing GSM base stations with LTE technology, according to the report. In January, BSNL demonstrated LTE technology in Chandigarh, showcasing maximum download speeds of 35 megabits per second.
According to the report, the company is currently studying a revenue sharing model and a capital expense model to launch the new service.
Rival mobile telephony operators, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel and Idea Cellular, are already offering commercial LTE services in India, while Reliance Jio Infocomm is expected to launch LTE later this year.
