Earlier this August, the Department of the Interior and Local Government announced that pending applications to build 1,502 cell towers had been approved. He added that telcos lacked the pecuniary interest to build towers, especially in remote areas where there are only a few customers. They would be spared billions of dollars needed to construct the towers needed as well as from their maintenance costs. In other countries, the telco providers are different from the firms responsible for building cell towers. Mr. Jacinto told The Times that the Philippines had lost two of its three satellite slots because they were not being utilized.

Source: Manila Times August 22, 2020 16:18 UTC