DICT to hasten 3rd telco selection

After presenting a number of formulas and going back and forth three times to the public for consultations, state regulators the other night pledged to hasten its selection process for the country's third telecom player.

“Definitely we can’t delay the entry of a third telco anymore, as instructed by the President. So we will move forward faster, doing what we think is right for the Filipino people,” Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Acting Secretary Rio confirmed.

Both the potential bidders and telco stakeholders favored the DICT-proposed Highest Committed Level of Service (HCLoS) Terms of Reference (TOR) over the Auction as Mode in selecting the New Major Player (NMP).

This was according to a survey done during a public consultation on July 6, 2018 in Quezon City.

The consultation/market study was conducted to hear the stakeholders’ feedback and to finally settle the prolonged discussion among the members of the NMP Oversight Committee which of the two draft ToRs will be used for choosing the third telco.

The HCLoS formula takes into account National Population Coverage, Minimum Average Broadband Speed, and Annual Capital and Operational Expenditures in giving points for the selection process.

With this key development, DICT Acting Secretary Rio is keen on finalizing the HCLoS ToR. “The real moving forward is to come up with a final version that will be subjected to the legal process,” he pointed out.