Senator Koko Pimentel III, chair of the Senate trade, commerce and entrepreneurship committee on Thursday said the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte will deliver on its commitment to “shatter” the country’s longstanding telecommunications duopoly.
Pimentel also commended the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for reaching the final stages of the selection process for a new major player (NMP).
“Admittedly there are hiccups in difficult undertakings like these, but the DICT and NTC deserve credit for the work they have put in to lay the groundwork for the selection process and the naming of a third player,” said the senator from Mindanao.
“The process was, in my view, fair and transparent, and it takes us one step closer to providing real competition in the telecommunications industry.”
Pimentel also added that the President is committed to break the telco duopoly in the country.
“From day one of his term, President Rodrigo Duterte has made breaking the stranglehold of the telco duopoly on the Filipino consumer one of his top priorities, as he recognizes that Filipino consumers suffer from poor telco services because of the absence of real competition,” he said.
In his 3rd State of the Nation Address last July, the President reiterated his pledge to introduce a new telco player in the country to ensure that the country’s telecommunications services are reliable, inexpensive, and secure.
The President said the new player would be required “to provide the best possible services at reasonably accessible prices.”
“The goal here is to provide consumers with a viable alternative to the duopoly.”
According to Pimentel, the parameters set by the President compelled the DICT and NTC to set exacting standards “to ensure that the third telco will be able to slug it out with the existing telco providers.”
“The goal here is to provide consumers with a viable alternative to the duopoly. It’s not enough to offer consumers a third choice; we have to make it an attractive option, one whose services can compete or are better than the choices they have now. Only then will we be able to reap the benefits of cutthroat competition, like better services at lower prices,” explained the lawyer.
The DICT on Wednesday revealed that the NTC Selection Committee declared the Mindanao Islamic Telephone Inc. (Mislatel)-led consortium as the provisional NMP.
The consortium, comprised of Mislatel, Udenna Corporation, Chelsea Logistics Holdings, and China Telecom was declared the only qualified participant by the NMP Selection Committee, out of the three submitted bids en route to winning the provisional NMP title.
“It’s not enough to offer consumers a third choice; we have to make it an attractive option.”
Mislatel posted 456.80 points in its Highest Committed Level of Service (HCLOS) bid, computed based on its submitted five-year commitment on National Population Coverage, Minimum Average Broadband Speed, and Capital and Operational Expenditure.
Mislatel will now be required to pass the Document Verification Phase within three calendar days before being confirmed as the NMP.
