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President Rodrigo Duterte challenged on Monday the Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company (Mislatel) to fulfill its promise of breaking the duopoly in the telecommunications industry by improving services to the public.

Duterte made the call during the granting of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to Mislatel, a consortium of Davao businessman Dennis Uy's Udenna Corporation and Chelsea Logistics Company, Inc. and Chinese state-owned China Telecommunications Corp., in a ceremony in Malacañang.

"After complying with the stringent standards set by the National Telecommunications Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Philippine Competition Commission, our (new) telco player posted a performance security bond amounting to 25.7 billion pesos," he said.

"Accompanying this bond is a commitment ? that I will hold you to that commitment ? that you will improve the country’s prevailing Internet speed from 4.5 Mbps to 55 Mbps," Duterte said.

He said the entry of Mislatel, if it would comply with its promise, would be a milestone in the government's efforts to provide fast, reliable, secure, and more affordable telecommunication services to the public.

"Let me take this opportunity to pose this challenge to Mislatel [Consortium]: Break the prevailing duopoly in the telecommunications industry and fulfill your commitment to provide better telco services to our people," he said.

Duterte urged the Filipinos to take advantage of the many opportunities to be brought by the entry of the third telco, apart from Globe Telecom and PLDT-Smart, by engaging in productive ICT-based undertakings.

"Expand your businesses, engage in online jobs, avail of online learning and training opportunities, and participate in productive public discussions," he said. Celerina Monte/DMS