What It Means
- The Philippine satellite internet market is no longer a closed franchise zone, and two US operators are now in late-stage licensing under the new Konektadong Pinoy regime.
- The mechanism is regulatory, not technological. The franchise requirement is gone for data transmission, and the 40 percent foreign equity cap on telecom was lifted in 2022.
- PLDT and Globe are already repositioning as satellite distribution partners through Starlink agreements, not pure competitors.
- The real structural exposure sits with mid-tier ISPs, tower companies, and the rural fiber buildout economics that assumed terrestrial expansion would absorb GIDA demand.
- Enterprise procurement teams will start pricing redundancy across two technology stacks, not two providers within the same stack.
The Satellite Internet Door Was Opened by Law, Not by Capital
On May 13, 2026, Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda confirmed that two US-based satellite internet operators are in advanced stages of registration with the National Telecommunications Commission. One could secure approval inside May. The second is expected to launch by year-end. Aguda would not name them but said both are globally recognized brands.
Five days later, PLDT chief operating officer Menardo Jimenez said the company was “unfazed” and ready to “slug it out.” The line is quotable. It is also a distraction. The story is not whether PLDT can compete. The story is that the gate has been moved.
Two policy actions did the heavy lifting. RA 11659, which amended the Public Service Act in 2022, removed the 40 percent foreign equity cap on telecommunications. RA 12234, the Konektadong Pinoy Act, lapsed into law on August 24, 2025. Its implementing rules were signed on November 5, 2025 and took effect after publication. The IRR created a new license category called the Data Transmission Industry Participant, or DTIP. Under the open access policy, DTIPs no longer need a congressional franchise to build, operate, and maintain networks. They register with the NTC instead.
That single change collapses a decades-old barrier. Until last year, foreign capital looking at the Philippine connectivity market had to find a franchise holder to partner with, then accept a minority equity position. Both constraints are gone. The satellite internet entrants are simply the first to walk through the door.
Two Tracks, One Market
The new entrants are not the only foreign players. Starlink has been operating in the Philippines commercially since 2023, sold through resellers including Converge and PLDT Enterprise. In January 2026, Globe and Starlink announced a direct-to-cell partnership that allows ordinary LTE phones to access satellite-based voice, messaging, and data without new devices or ground infrastructure. Testing began in the first half of this year.
What the May announcement adds is a different layer. These two operators are entering as licensed DTIPs in their own right, not as resellers funneling traffic through an incumbent. That distinction matters. A reseller agreement keeps the satellite internet relationship inside the local telco. A direct DTIP license puts the satellite internet provider on the same regulatory plane as PLDT and Globe.
The DICT has framed the entry as a GIDA story. Geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas need coverage. Satellite delivers it without fiber or cell sites. Aguda has cited up to USD 1.5 billion in potential annual investment under the new regime. Seven DTIPs were already in the pipeline as of November 2025.
The GIDA frame is useful politically. It is also incomplete. Satellite internet does not stop at the edge of the coverage map. Once licensed, an operator can sell to any segment that finds the price and service competitive. Enterprise buyers in BPO, logistics, mining, agribusiness, and disaster response are already running the numbers.
The Incumbents Are Hedging, Not Resisting
Read PLDT’s posture carefully. Jimenez said direct-to-cell technology still has performance limits. He is right. SMS latency can run several minutes. Video streaming through satellite-to-phone is not commercially viable yet. PLDT mobile coverage already reaches roughly 97 percent of the population.
But PLDT Enterprise is also an authorized Starlink reseller. Globe is the first carrier in Southeast Asia to offer Starlink direct-to-cell. Both incumbents have built satellite into their distribution stack. Neither is betting against the technology in the medium term.
The public stance is competitive. The procurement stance is integration. Both can be true at the same time, and they tell different parts of the same story. The duopoly is not going to be displaced by two satellite internet entrants in 2026. The duopoly is going to absorb the disruption by becoming the on-ground distribution layer for satellite capacity. That is a quieter outcome than “let’s slug it out,” but it is closer to what is actually being built.
The Exposed Middle
The piece of the market most exposed is not at the top. It is in the middle and at the edges.
Mid-tier ISPs that built business models on second and third-tier cities now face competitors with no capex amortization pressure on Philippine ground infrastructure. Tower companies that signed long-term lease contracts assumed terrestrial network expansion would keep absorbing demand growth in GIDAs. Satellite bypasses the tower. Local fiber contractors and right-of-way operators in Class 4 to 6 municipalities lose pricing leverage because operators can serve the same households from low-earth orbit.
The Universal Service Fund framework also gets uncomfortable. If satellite internet can deliver GIDA coverage commercially without subsidy, the policy logic for compelling terrestrial telcos to serve unprofitable areas weakens. That conversation has not started in public, but it will.
The duopoly has hedges. The mid-tier does not. That asymmetry is where the structural pressure will land first.
The First NTC Approval Will Be the Trigger
The first NTC approval is the trigger event. Once one US satellite operator is licensed, enterprise procurement timelines will compress. RFPs will start asking for satellite redundancy as a default line item rather than a premium add-on. Pricing pressure will move from retail consumer plans to enterprise contracts.
PLDT’s “let’s slug it out” framing makes for a sharp quote. The structural picture underneath is less dramatic and more consequential. The Philippine satellite internet market did not crack open because a foreign operator showed up. It cracked open because the law was rewritten to let one in. The operators are following the policy. The next round of entrants will, too.
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