Gov’t all set for third telco player selection tomorrow

The government is ready to select the New Major Player (NMP) tomorrow, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Commissioner Ga.m.aliel A. Cordoba yesterday announced.

“We are all set for the transparent selection of the NMP in the Philippine Telecoms Market,” he reiterated.

“In fact, we are holding our third ‘mock’ bidding today to ensure that our Selection Committee, Technical Working Group, and Secretariat are prepared to receive and process the Selection Documents,” Cordoba added.

The first and second mock biddings were held last month, on October 19 and 26.

The simulations were part of the Commission’s commitment to ensure a transparent and efficient selection process, according to the NTC.

The Philippine National Police will also deploy policemen and bomb-sniffing dogs to maintain order and security during the Selection Process.

In a separate statement, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. added that the Participant with the Highest Committed Level of Service (HCLoS) will have to go through the Document Verification Phase.

Based on NTC Memorandum Circular No. 09-09-2018, the winning bidder must have the HCLoS in terms of National Population Coverage, Minimum Average Broadband Speed, and Capital and Operational Expenditure during the five-year Commitment Period.

The opening of bids will start at 10 a.m. on November 7, 2018, and can be viewed by the public through the DICT’s Facebook page.

To date, ten parties have bought the 11 million each Selection Documents from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

These include China Telecommunications Corporation, PT&T, NOW Telecom, Inc., Telenor ASA Group, Udenna Corporation, LCS Group of Companies & Tier 1, Mobiltel Holding GmbH, Converge ICT, A.m.A Telecommunications Corp., and an undisclosed bidder.

Regulators also invited three observers to witness the November 7th opening of bids.

The observers are the Commission of Audit, the Foundation for Media Alternatives, and the Philippine Technological Council.

The Foundation for Media Aternatives designated Grace Mirandilla-Santos to represent the group. Representatives from the Commission on Audit and the Philippine Technological Council are yet to be determined.

The NTC likewise invited two representatives each from the OES, DICT, DOF, NSC, DOJ, PCC and SEC to join the Technical Working Group.

The NTC will receive bids on November 5th and 6th from 8 a.m. until 5 pm and on November 7th from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m.

Opening of bids will immediately follow after the 10:00 a.m. deadline tomorrow..

The selection of the New Major Player was one of the highlights of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address.