The Philippines government has again pushed back the planned timeframe for selecting a third telco player, with bidding now expected to conclude by September.
The new oversight committee tasked with setting the terms for the selection process will meet next week to consider whether to approve the draft terms of reference for the process, the Philippine Daily Inquirerreported.
These terms will serve as the basis for selecting an operator to award 3G, 4G and potential 5G radiofrequencies.
Once the draft is approved, the terms will be released to the public and then discussed in a public forum. The final terms are expected to be complete around late June or early July, and potential bidders will be given two months to prepare their offers.
Under the proposed criteria for the process, a company vying for the third telco position must have at least five years experience in operating telecoms services, have paid-in capital of at least 10 billion pesos and not be related to the market’s incumbent operators.
According to previous reports, overseas operators including China Telecom, South Korea’s LG Uplus, Japan’s KDDI and Vietnam’s Viettel have expressed an interest in participating in the selection process.