Opposite of monopoly

Ike Señeres . 

IT is clear that an industry is in effect a duopoly if there are only two players. That may just be a play of words, because two players conniving and working together as a cartel might as well be called a monopoly. By definition, an industry becomes an oligopoly if the market is dominated by a small number of large players. Depending on who is talking, Mislatel is poised to either be a “new major telco player” or a “third major telco player”, as the case may be. Although these two monikers might sound the same, they are not the same. At the outset, “new major” would mean that there are many other major players, even if we know that there are only two others. On the other hand, “third major” would either mean that there are only three, or it could go beyond three. Some say however that with three or more players, it could already be called a multipoly, but some purists of the English language are not too keen about that.

According to some observers, the first two major players are already making moves to improve their services, meaning to say that they will not wait for the third player to threaten them. If that trend will continue, we will surely see an increase in internet and mobile speeds, and a decrease of prices for these two modes. Lest we all forget and to give credit where credit is due, let us remember that it was President Rodrigo Roa Duterte who started the ball rolling on this, and whenever there is an increase in speed and a decrease in prices in the coming days, we should know who to thank. I said that because I have seen it happen in the past, that the one we should thank for something has been forgotten, while everyone still enjoys what he has started. For example, it was my late brother Ambassador Roy who started the campaign against labor contractualization.  Now that the practice of “Endo” has weakened, no one is remembering him for what he did.

As I see it, it is to be expected that as soon as Mislatel enters the market, it will introduce faster speeds and lower prices. For sure, it will force the two other major players to increase their speeds and decrease their prices too. I think that President Duterte already saw that as a possible outcome, simply causing the market to have increased competition. One advantage of competition is to have a comparison, and that is what is going to make a difference. We have no proof that the two major players behaved like a cartel all these years, but as the third player enters the, all hell could break loose, and the duopoly could fall apart as each of them would scamper to save their own skins. Of course, we would rather keep all three players in the market to make sure that better services are ensured, so the three way scenario is very much likely to stay.

While some say that the other two players are guilty of stifling economic growth by holding back good connectivity, I say that it is not too late for them to set their service delivery and their pricing right in the interest of everyone, including theirs. I am sure that no one will disagree with me if I say that what is good for the country would also be good for them. Some may also say that the profitability of these two other players might suffer but I think that the reverse would actually happen, that they would earn more revenues as more users would make use of more internet and mobile services to become part of a growing global digital economy. Before we know it, everything in the world will be “Uberized” and “Transportified” but that could only happen if we have faster internet speeds with lower costs.

E-mail: iseneres@yahoo.com