No 3G in the Philippines or: How to kick yourself out of the race

The Philippines are known to be the capital of SMS. On average, those with a mobile phone send an astonishing 466 SMS in a month which is way above the Asian average. There are certain reasons for this, of course, since calls are more expensive than a SMS - still.

The way for the Philippines would be to build up on this strength. However, apparently, the "Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) is to ask its own government to put back the deadline for bids in the country's 3G licence auction. According to press reports, the powerful PLDT does not yet believe that the time is right for mobile operators to start work on rolling out expensive new networks." This is also the opinion of other mobile companies such as Globe or Smart (which is part of PLDT). They say it would take between four and six more years for the 3G market to develop, as consumers cannot afford yet the cost of 3G handsets.

What they forget is that the prices of handsets will decline rapidly, once they are launched. What is more serious so, is that the Philippines might lose the race to atop one of its major strong points and develop it further. That is sad.

(By Asia Business Consulting)