Php150-B Malaysian telco project gets green lane endorsement

Making green investments happen in the Philippines, the Philippine Board of Investments (BOI), through its One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments (OSACSI), has given a green lane certification to EDOTCO Towers, Inc. for its telecommunications infrastructure project.

Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo handed the Green Lane Certificate of Endorsement to EDOTCO Towers, Inc. officials during a brief awarding ceremony at the BOI Main Office.

Expecting an investment of approximately Php150 billion in the coming years, EDOTCO plans a balanced rollout of 25,000 common telecommunications infrastructures. This strategic deployment spans urban and rural areas, addressing the needs of Mobile Network Operators (MNO) and aligning with the government’s efforts to enhance mobile network access and internet penetration in underserved and unserved regions.

Significantly, the telecommunications infrastructure developed by EDOTCO will form the base and platform for future mobile broadband networks in the country.

The project will play a huge role in introducing new technologies such as 5th Generation (5G) mobile broadband networks and large-scale Internet of Things (IoT) applications through its shared infrastructure offered to services providers and government agencies with open access and a non-discriminatory basis.

On the operations side, EDOTCO will utilize non-conventional energy resources such as photovoltaic systems, wind, biomass, fuel cells, energy storage systems, or hybrid solutions, provided that site conditions are optimal for its use.

In addition, EDOTCO will also utilize different analytics software to ensure continuous improvement in the operations of the network and avoid or minimize outages at sites. EDOTCO’s project will strengthen the telecommunications infrastructure in the country. It will attract more investors as connectivity is critical in supporting business operations.

Energy costs are substantially reduced to the advantage of the Mobile Network Operator (MNO) and this reduced consumption (on an aggregated basis) places less demand on the national grid. Another sustainable solution is the introduction of green energy.

The project will benefit Filipinos through an increase in national employment rates and positive growth to domestic skilled labor pools with long-term transfer of knowledge from multinationals. Employment will not only come from the construction of infrastructure but from operations and maintenance as well.

Registered as a domestic stock corporation in 2018, EDOTCO focuses on constructing, owning, operating, maintaining, and leasing out telecommunication towers to telecommunication operators. It was the first foreign investor in common towers in the Philippines and was recognized as a government-linked company (GLC) in Malaysia.

EDOTCO is a wholly owned subsidiary of EDOTCO Group Sdn. Bhd., a Malaysian-based entity renowned for its reputation as the first regional and integrated infrastructure services company in Asia with a portfolio of over 58,000 towers across nine countries.

EDOTCO’s business as an ITC includes the construction of passive telecommunications tower infrastructure (PTTI) nationwide and leasing out tower and ground space and other associated services to mobile network operators in the country.

The green lanes for strategic investments were established through Executive Order No. 18, which was approved by the Office of the President in February last year. Green lanes aim to hasten, simplify, and automate the permit and license application processes for strategic investments in the Philippines.