Telco giant PLDT Inc. has reiterated its call for the reduction and rationalization of the spectrum users fee (SUF) for all frequencies in line with efforts to provide the best quality and the best service to its subscribers.

PLDT said the spectrum fees collected annually by the government from public telecommunications entities (PTEs) have become unreasonable and excessive.

It is our position that SUF must be set at modest levels with a view to recovering only the regulator’s spectrum management costs as mandated by law.

House Bill 9851 or the “Zero Spectrum User Fee (SUF) for Telcos Using Wi-Fi Act mandates the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to effectively establish the zero SUF policy and regulation by not imposing charges, nor collecting fees from telcos for using WiFi or wireless data networks.

Atty. Roy Ibay, Smart Communications VP for Regulatory Affairs, said there should be a uniform computation of SUF across all frequency bands which are created equal.

“There appears to be no basis for creating a price differentiation among the various frequencies,” he said.

Ibay noted that in other jurisdictions, national regulatory authorities are even required to publish reports that set out the total sum of charges collected, and the total administrative expenditures incurred to justify the SUF imposed by government.

He said increased demand from mobile users put a strain on networks, necessitating the use of more spectrum.

“Operators will struggle to make the significant investments required to support dense 4G and 5G networks,” Ibay said.

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PLDT calls for uniform computation of spectrum users fee for all frequencies
Source: Filipino Daily Inquirer