A committee drafting the terms of reference for the country’s third major telecommunications firm on Friday adopted the highest committed level of service model over the auction process proposed by the Department of Finance in selecting a new player that will challenge the duopoly PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc.
Acting DICT Secretary Eliseo Rio said the committee decided to choose the HCLos model “with conditions” in selecting the third major telco player in the public telecommunications market.
The committee is composed of the DICT, DoF, the Office of the Executive Secretary and the National Security Adviser. DoF representatives abstained from voting during the committee meeting.
Rio, who threatened to resign if the HCLos model will be rejected by the committee, said one of the conditions in the HCLoS model included an increase the spectrum users fee to be able to raise more revenues for the government.
He said a public hearing for the final TOR for the selection of a new major player would be conducted.
Based on the DICT’s informal survey, 15 potential players found that 75 percent preferred the highest committed level of service, or HCLoS, for the selection of the new major telco player.
Results of the survey showed only 17 percent among the participants chose the auction mode being pushed by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez. Eight percent abstained from the survey.
Under the HCLoS, the criteria for the selection of new major telco player are national population coverage (40 percent weightage), minimum average broadband speed (20 percent weightage) and an annual capital and operational expenditure (40 percent weightage) computed annually over a five-year period.
The annual minimum levels for each of the criteria are 30 percent for national population coverage, 5 megabits per second for the minimum average broadband speed and P40 billion for the capital and operational expenditure.
The selection committee will use a point system based on the documents submitted by the potential players.
Based on the second draft of memorandum circular in selecting the third major telco player, the DICT said the participant with the highest amount of bid for five years would be selected as the new major player.