DICT pushes deadline for 3rd telco player application to May 2018

MANILA, Philippines — The deadline for submission of applications to become the new player in the telecommunication industry has been moved to May after potential entrants sought for more time to prepare.

In a social media post, Department of information and Communications Technology officer-in-charge Eliseo Rio Jr. said the deadline for bid submissions has been extended to May 18 from the original timetable of March to lure more applicants.

The decision ran counter to President Rodrigo Duterte’s strict order to have an operational third telecom carrier by March.

“The request for extension comes from the potential contenders themselves. They say that the end of March is unrealistic,” Rio said.

“[They say] they would need more time to come up with a competitive proposal, for organizing a consortium that can invest billions of pesos to be able to compete with the incumbent telcos, cannot be done by end of March,” he added.

In November last year, Duterte invited China to be his country’s third telecom provider that will challenge a longstanding duopoly that has angered consumers in a nation said to have the slowest internet speed in the Asia Pacific.

READ: Duterte offers China 3rd telecom carrier slot

Beijing later picked China Telecom to invest in the Philippines, backed by a consortium of Filipino businesses.

READ: China 'convinced' Duterte's telecom role offer can help boost ties

Aside from China Telecom, Malacañang had said South Korea’s LG Uplus Corp., Japan’s KDDI, and a Taiwanese telecom firm that was yet to be revealed were also eyeing the Philippines’ third telecom slot.

The DICT had asked for two more months to award the third telecom slot, but Duterte rejected the request.

“If we force this [March] deadline, there might be no bidders,” Rio said.

According to a timeline previously presented by the DICT, the drafting of a memorandum circular—which contains the terms of reference for the selection and assignment of radio frequencies for the new player—would happen from January 9 to 19.

The memorandum circular was targeted to take effect on March 6, while the acceptance of bidding documents from participants was initially set on March 27.

The third entrant in the telecom industry was originally expected to be announced on April 2.

RELATED: Philippines identifies second choice for third telecom player