3RD TELCO PLAYER TO BE KNOWN IN NOV.
The new telco will pave the way for a market competition for better services.
The country will finally know the third telecommunication company that will be chosen by government to pursue its services to the Filipinos aside from Globe and Smart by November 7, 2018.
Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) Secretary Eliseo Rio bared that nine firms have submitted bidding documents that will guarantee their inclusion on the selection process.
Speaking at the press briefing during the first day of the Philippine International Cybersecurity Conference at a local hotel in Davao City, he said the term of reference became effective in the selection process for telecommunication companies last October 8.
“On that very first day, we got five applicants which means they bought the bidding documents at a cost of P1,000,000.00 each. Today, we have nine, so four more were added and the bidding day would be on November 7. From now to November 7, we can still accept people who would like to buy the bidding documents,” Rio said.
He said that out of the nine bidders, four are foreign companies and are big telcos in their own right.
Rio claimed that one of the bidders is bigger than Smart and Globe combined.
He said the four foreign firms include the China Telecom, TeleNor of Norway, Mobile Tel of Austria and the Korean Tel.
“The fact that they are interested to join in this contest is a reflection on the fairness and openness of our terms of reference. It took us ten months to come up with a framework of selecting a new telco,” Rio said.
He stressed that new telco should be able to compete with Globe and Smart which have been operating for the past twenty years.
Rio said when the third telco comes in, it does not have subscribers at all and the only way for it to get the customers from Globe and Smart is to give a better service at a lower cost.
He believes Globe and Smart will also improve their services and lower their costs.
FOUR TELCO BIDDERS:
*China Telecom
*TeleNor of Norway
*Mobile Tel of Austria
*Korean Tel