PLDT-Smart secures 22,000 permits under govt’s new fast-track system

PLDT Inc. and its wireless arm Smart Communications have secured 22,000 new fixed and mobile permits this year as they look to take advantage of the government’s new willingness to fast-track approvals for telcos in the Philippines. According to the Manila Bulletin, by dint of the new Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), which was enacted last year via Joint Memorandum Circular, PLDT and its mobile unit have been able to improve fixed and mobile broadband speeds significantly. With Ookla reporting that average fixed speeds more than doubled (to 67.9Mbps) and more than tripled for mobile (to 47.3Mbps) between May 2020 and May 2021, Alfredo S Panlilio, PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications President and CEO, noted: ‘Speed in the homes is strengthened by our ongoing fibre rollout, while 5G continues to lift the wireless experience’. TeleGeography notes that PLDT’s fibre infrastructure spanned over 478,000km across the country at 31 March 2021.