Dominguez: Bidding for entry of 3rd telco player cannot be rushed

The head of the Duterte administration’s economic team on Thursday cautioned against rushing the entry of the third telecommunications player, citing the massive amount of investment needed by the firm poised to break the sector’s duopoly.

“To effectively compete, the investments required of the new major telecommunications player is estimated to be at least P200 billion,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said in a social media post.

“The magnitude of the investment requires that all elements, including the necessary access to available telecommunications infrastructure, are in place for the new player,” Dominguez noted.

As such, for Dominguez, “until such time, the bidding for its entry cannot be rushed.”

In a text message to finance reporters, Dominguez said his tweet was “just a reminder to make sure that all issues that may not give the potential aspirants an even chance of competing in the telco industry are adequately addressed.”

In February, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) abandoned its previously steep financial requirements for a prospective challenger to the PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom duopoly, as it wanted to favor a player that could offer better services including faster internet speed and wider coverage.

DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. had indicated that the earlier requirement of P10 billion in net worth, as well as a primary bid parameter that considers highest committed investment over a five-year period, would be scrapped.

“We are no longer basing it on the amount of money you invest. We are now going to base it on actual results,” Rio had explained.

The DICT was eyeing to release this month the final rules guiding the bidding for the third telco player.

The bidding was tentatively set on May 24, while awarding would be by early June at the latest, Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba of the National Telecommunications Commission had said.

Officials had said that President Duterte did not object to the extension of the initial March 2018 deadline.

This month, President Rodrigo Duterte also signed Administrative Order No. 11 creating an oversight committee for the entry of the third telco firm, as such was “a matter of paramount national interest which shall redound to the benefit of the public by ensuring genuine competition in the country’s telecommunications industry.”/lb