Revised draft terms for third telco player out

MANILA, Philippines — The government on Tuesday released the revised draft Terms of Reference, which spells out the rules and regulations in choosing the country’s new telecom carrier.

In a statement, the Department of Information and Communications Technology said the much-awaited draft TOR was released so stakeholders can examine the document ahead of a public consultation that will be held next week.

“It is without prejudice to further changes deemed necessary,” the DICT said.

Based on the draft TOR, companies that want to be the third telco must have a congressional franchise and have no outstanding liabilities. 

Applicants must also have a paid capital of at least P10 billion and five years of experience in the delivery and operations of telecommunications services.

Selection criteria

The company with the “highest committed level of service" will be selected as the third player, according to the draft document.

Under the revised draft selection criteria, a participant’s services should cover 30 percent of national population. The company must also offer a minimum average broadband speed of 5 Mbps to consumers and must have P40 billion capital and operational expenditure over a five-year period.

To break a duopoly and boost service, President Rodrigo Duterte invited foreign firms, backed by a consortium of Filipino businesses, to take a role in the country’s wireless communications market.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III early this month said rating the potential entrants should not be based on “commitments.”

“You know, the beauty contest in the past resulted to frequency hoarding and those companies failed to improve service. They just made money by flipping assets government owns. I don’t want that to happen again,” Dominguez said.

DICT Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. earlier said the deadline for naming the new player depends on the release of the TOR. Malacañang had initially said the third telecom would be announced within the first quarter of 2018.

Rio had also reportedly assured the public that the announcement would happen “definitely before the end of the year.”