By Roderick T. dela Cruz

Express Telecommunication Co. Inc., the first mobile phone network operator in the Philippines, is re-entering the telecom industry via the GSP platform, now dominated by industry brands such as Smart, Globe and Sun Cellular.

Extelcom said in a statement that it filed an application with the National Telecommunications Commission for the assignment of the 925-935 MHz frequency band.

Extelcom is a joint venture of Bayan Telecommunications Holdings Corp. (42 percent), the telecommunications arm of Benpres Holdings Corp., Scott Sproule Cellular (37 percent) and Mayon Holdings Inc. (12 percent), whose shareholders also own GMA Network.

Extelcom is currently under rehabilitation.

Luisito Sapiera, officer-in-charge of the ?re-energized? company, said the entry of Extelcom into the cellular mobile telephone system business would further foster healthy competition in the market.

?Extelcom is prepared to play a dynamic part in the next phase of the industry?s growth,? he said.

Sapiera said Extelcom?s proposed CMTS network would help trigger the next wave of much-needed changes in the Philippine market, such as substantial acceleration of subscriber penetration, increased competition on prices and service offerings and vast improvement of service quality.

Extelcom plans to use its existing frequency assignments, especially the 880-890 MHz frequency band, together with its paired link, the 925-935 MHz frequency band, which it is asking from the NTC.

The company assured the NTC that it had enough resources to pay all spectrum user fees and supervision and regulation charges, noting that it had completed its financial reorganization and was on schedule with its court-approved rehabilitation plan.

?Extelcom strongly believes, and can show, that its current proposals will allow it to make the best use of the relevant frequencies at this time, and can even bring the company out of rehabilitation within a shorter period than contemplated,? said Sapiera.

The firm company has an existing certificate of public convenience and necessity for the operation of CMTS. It has been assigned the frequencies 835-845 MHz, 880-890 MHz, 1720-1725 MHz and 1815-1820 MHz.

The company said its certificate had been issued on the basis of a plan for a CMTS network using the analog-based advanced mobile phone system, which has been rendered obsolete and outdated by developments in digital communications.

Thus, it has to clearly move away from the defunct analog technology to the improved digital GSM platform.

The 880-890 MHz band and its paired link, the 925-935 MHz band, has been identified by the International Telecommunications Union as suitable for offering CMTS on the GSM platform and will allow Extelcom to optimize voice call services and at the same time allow it to offer short messaging services, or more commonly known as text messaging.