NEWSFLASH

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MOBILE PUBLIC PHONES IN RP BY 1998

Manila, Oct. 19, 1997 - The latest wireless technology in telecommunications, the public mobile telephone system (PMTS), will be in the Philippines by next year.

The National Telecommunications Commission yesterday announced that nine telecommunications firms will be selected to provide the radio-based mobile communication network which is being adopted in the US as a personal communications service (PCS), in Europe as personal communication network (PCN) and in Japan as personal handphone system (PHS).

Through a public bidding the NTC will select one company to operate nationwide while two will be chosen for each of the four zones: Metro Manila, Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

NTC Commissioner Simeon Kintanar said the provisional authority to put up a nationwide PMTS will be awarded through public bidding in January. The losing bidders will be able to participate the next day in bidding for the four zones. Again, the winning bidders will be allowed to choose which technology to adopt: Japanese, American or European.

The nine winning operators will be required to provide PMTS to 40 percent of all cities and towns within two years from the date of authority, and to add 40 percent more in the third year.

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