PLDT Inc. confirmed yesterday (22 November) that it has received interest from several potential buyers regarding the sale of an additional 2,000 telecoms towers. Further, in a bid to expedite the sale, the company has called on interested parties to submit letters of intent (LOI) as a preliminary to striking a formal and detailed purchase deal. President and Chief Executive Officer Alfredo S Panlilio told reporters that the companies involved include those that bid on a first batch of towers it sold. ‘If we can arrive at an LOI … it’s just a matter of completing the contract before the year end,’ he is cited as saying.
PLDT is divesting its tower assets as part of a wider transformation strategy, which is also in line with the government’s Common Tower Policy that seeks to ensure that more than one telco has access to towers, thereby increasing the number of subscribers being served by each tower. The government has been encouraging tower sharing to improve cell site density, which is believed to be one of the lowest in the region at 4,000 subscribers per tower.