Now Telecom’s TRO petition junked, search for 3rd telco goes on

To date, China Telecom, PT&T Corp., LCS Group of Companies with TierOne Communications, Udenna Corp., Telenor Group and an undisclosed company are among those that bought bidding documents to participate in the selection process for the third telco player. (File Photo: Department of Information and Communications Technology – DICT/Facebook)

MANILA – A major stumbling block has been removed in the selection for the local telecommunications industry’s third player after the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) junked a petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed by Now Telecom against the terms of reference set by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

In a statement on Friday, the DICT said Manila RTC Branch 42 has denied the petition for a stay order, four days after Now Telecom filed the case due to certain provisions on the guidelines for the selection process that were supposedly not tackled during public consultations among telco stakeholders. “We will push through as scheduled,” DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said.

In its order, the Manila RTC said a hearing on Now Telecom’s petition for preliminary injunction will be held on October 23 and 24.

Now Telecom alleged that the provisions in the Terms of Reference were not taken up during a series of public consultations, particularly the PHP700-million participation security, the PHP14- to PHP24-billion performance security, and a PHP10-million non-refundable appeal fee are barriers to entry and are “money-making schemes” imposed against the third telco.

Rio earlier explained that the provisions aim to ensure that a third telco have the financial and technical capability to compete with existing players, PLDT and Globe Telecom.

To date, China Telecom, PT&T Corp., LCS Group of Companies with TierOne Communications, Udenna Corp., Telenor Group and an undisclosed company are among those that bought bidding documents to participate in the selection process for the third telco player.

The DICT aims to name the new major telco player by December, which shall be determined through its highest committed level of service based on corresponding points on national population coverage, capital and operational expenditures and minimum average broadband speed.