President Rodrigo Duterte has offered China the "privilege" to be his country's third telecoms operator, his spokesman said Monday, turning to a historic rival to break a longstanding duopoly that has frustrated consumers for years.
The Philippines' data and voice services rank among the Asia-Pacific region's slowest and most intermittent, and Duterte last year warned providers PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. to shape up or face new competition.
Duterte made the offer last week to visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the latest sign of his pursuit of closer political and economic ties with a country with which the Philippines has a long history of territorial disputes and mistrust.