Duterte rejects DICT's request to extend deadline for arrival of 3rd telco player

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has rejected the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s request to extend the deadline that he imposed for the entry of a third telecom player.

A new telecom carrier is targeted to be up and running by the first quarter of 2018.

But during the DICT’s first public consultation, potential entrants pointed out that the March 2018 deadline was “too tight.”

In response, DICT Officer-in-Charge and Undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. had said his agency would ask the Palace for an extension of “two months probably, from end of March.”

READ: DICT to seek for an extension of deadline for entry of 3rd telco provider

However, “this was not approve in yesterday’s Cabinet meeting,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told reporters in a press conference on Tuesday.

“So we stick it out with the original timeframe of a third telecoms player by March of this year,” Roque said, adding that Duterte had warned detractors “not to test the will of government.”

In November last year, Duterte invited China to be his country’s third telecom provider that will challenge a longstanding duopoly.

Beijing later picked China Telecom to invest in the Philippines, backed by a consortium of Filipino businesses.

Aside from China Telecom, Malacañang had said South Korea’s LG Uplus Corp., Japan’s KDDI, and a Taiwanese telecom firm that was yet to be revealed were also eyeing the Philippines’ third telecom slot.

According to a timeline presented by the DICT, the drafting of a memorandum circular—which contains the terms of reference for the selection and assignment of radio frequencies for the new player—will happen from January 9 to 19.

The memorandum circular is targeted to take effect on March 6, while the acceptance of bidding documents from participants is set on March 27.

The third entrant in the telecom industry is expected to be announced on April 2.

In the same press briefing, Roque said the president was particularly “displeased” with issues hounding the assignment of radio frequency bands to the new telecom player.

“The President rejected that proposal, that we pay for frequencies that we gave out for free and he warned everyone involved not to test the resolve of the President in allowing a third telecoms carrier to enter the country,” the Palace spokesman said.

In a January 17 report by BusinessWorld, Rio said plans to reallocate mobile frequency may require legislation, possibly prolonging the process of introducing a third player in the telecom industry.

Incumbents PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. hold the majority of radio frequencies, which they acquired from their purchase in 2016 of San Miguel Corp.’s telco assets.

The Philippine Competition Commission estimates that only 12.8 percent of the spectrum will be available for a potential third player.