The Department of Information and Communications Technology said Tuesday it adopted a “hybrid” selection process for the third major telecommunications player that will challenge the duopoly PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc.
Acting DICT Secretary Eliseo Rio described the selection process as “hybrid” whose main parameters were committed level of service and financial rollout plan.
“The selection process is very objective and does not give any discretion to DICT and NTC [National Telecommunications Commission,” Rio said.
Under the new draft memorandum circular issued by DICT, the criteria for the selection of new major telco player were national population coverage (40 percent weightage), minimum average broadband speed (20 percent weightage) and 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 document submitted by the potential players.
“A participant’s annual point score shall be multiplied by the corresponding ‘weightages’ in the table below reflecting the government’s policy priority of encouraging rapid network roll-out and the difficulty of deploying the NMP’s networks and facilities in the shortest possible time,” the rules stated.
The rules also said that the prospective bidders should have a net worth of at least P10 billion with a Congressional franchise to operate telecom services.
It said that in case of a consortium, Filipinos should control at least 60 percent and at least one of the members should be a holder of a Congressional franchise.
Prospective bidders should not be a related party to any existing telecom group and had no outstanding liabilities.
The NTC will assign frequency band 700 megahertz, 850 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2010 MHz, 2.5 gigahertz, 3.3 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 10.5 GHz to the new player.
The DICT said the selection documents could be purchased by prospective participants from the NTC for P1 million.
“Only prospective participants that purchased the selection documents shall be allowed to attend the pre-selection information session, which shall be on a date set by the selection committee,” the rules states.
Among the groups that earlier expressed interest in the bidding were businessman Mel Velarde’s Now Telecom, PT&T and Converge ICT Solutions Inc., along with their foreign partners.