Third telco to be named before year’s end —DICT

The third player in the telecommunications industry will no longer be named during President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) as previously assured by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

DICT officer-in-charge Eliseo Rio said the announcement will happen “definitely before the end of the year.”

Malacañang said it was no longer setting a deadline for the entry of a third telco player, while the department noted earlier an announcement will be made before Duterte’s SONA on July 23.

“But it’s not really a delay in the good sense because it will really define that the contender will be, really, a credible one,” Rio told reporters on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank’s Technology for Inclusion forum in Pasig City on Friday.

“The best thing that we can do is have at least the bidding process start before the SONA,” he said.

The final terms of references for the third telco player are expected to be released in mid- May, Rio noted.

“So, before the SONA, those who are interested will be buying bidding documents. So people will know who they are ... and they will be given two months to come up with bid proposals so more or less alam na ng mga tao before the SONA kung sino itong mga player, mga contestant,” he said.

Earlier this April, Duterte created an oversight committee to facilitate the entry of the third telco.

The committee is composed of representatives of DICT, Department of Finance, Office of the Executive Secretary, and National Security Adviser. DICT is the chairperson, with the DOF representative as vice-chairperson.

Asked if the creation of the oversight committee will affect the awarding timeline for the winning third telco, Rio earlier said, “None that we see right now. Our timeline is still with the self-imposed deadline of having a third telco player before the President’s SONA.” —VDS, GMA News